* 

BV 
3797 
.H88 
1863 


'^A'-^ 


V 


A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR; 


OR. 


GREAT  TRUTHS  FOR  EARNEST  TIMES. 


BY  THE  REV.  R.  S.  H0TTON,  M.  A. 


LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON 


SEP  1  5  2003 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE 
AMERICAN  TRACT   SOCIETY, 

150  NASSAU-STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


mmmWlmzin 

r 1 


V^t«fl**«*i9  ^n^./^^ 


!<*  -^f  t^   • 


CO^^TENTS, 


INTRODUCTORY— EARNEST  TIMES 5 

I.— DANGER - 9 

II.— ASLEEP - -- 13 

III.— A  PRISONER  OF  HOPE 17 

IV.— PEACE,  PEACE! 21 

v.— ONE  AT  THE  DOOR 25 

VI.— AWAKENED 29 

VIL— WHAT  MUST  I  DO  TO  BE  SAVED? 33 

VIII.— JESUS - 37 

IX.— THE  REFUGE 41 

X.  —A  PRESENT  SALVATION - 45 

XL— COME- -• 49 

XII.— NOW- - 53 

XIIL— BUT— 57 

XIV.— A  FULL  SURRENDER Gl 

XV.— BORN  AGAIN  -- 65 


4  CONTENTS. 

XVL— A  CHRISTIAN- - 69 

XVII.— SECRET  THINGS -----  73 

XVIII.— THE  RACE ---  77 

XIX.— REDEEMING  THE  TIME •• 81 

XX.— AN  UNCHANGEABLE  SAVIOUR 85 

XXL— THE  DAY  OF  SMALL  THINGS ^ 89 

XXIL— THE  FINAL  DAY 93 


A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

EARNEST  TIMES. 

These  are  earnest  clays  in  which  we  live. 
There  is  much  life  in  the  church.  The  Spirit 
is  being  poured  out,  and  many  are  being  gath- 
ered in  to  Christ.  Revivals  used  to  be  looked 
upon  as  rare  things  of  the  past;  but  now  a 
marvellous  work  of  grace  is  going  on  in  all 
parts  of  the  earth,  and  among  races  the  most 
distinct.  Surely  this  indicates  the  dawn  of  a 
bright  and  glorious  day. 

It  is  a  time  of  much  prayer.  Never  Av^ere 
there  so  many  fervent  suppliants  at  the  throne 
of  grace  as  now.  The  power  of  prayer  is  be- 
ing recognized.  Men  are  looking  on  it  as  a 
real  thing ;  they  are  using  it  as  such,  and  they 


6  A.  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

are  drawing  clown  on  the  cliurcli  showers  of 
blessings.  AVhat  answers  to  prayer  are  being 
received!  Nor  is  this  a  matter  to  be  won- 
dered at.  God  has  been  taken  at  his  word ; 
he  has  been  applied  to  with  faith  and  earnest- 
ness, and  he  has  done  great  things  for  iis, 
whereof  we  are  glad. 

Again,  it  is  a  time  of  earnest  effort.  Much  is 
being  done.  The  grand  truth  is  being  widely 
felt — to  every  man  his  work.  Young  converts 
have  been  full  of  zeal  and  love.  They  have 
set  themselves  to  the  duty  of  doing  something 
for  Christ;  and  how  much  has  been  accom- 
plished by  them  through  tJie  length  and  brcadtli 
of  the  land.  Many  of  these  may  have  received 
but  a  slender  education;  they  may  have  had 
no  great  powers  of  speech ;  they  may  have  been 
often  spoken  against;  but  they  have  been  ar- 
dent in  their  longings  to  do  good  to  souls ;  they 
have  persevered  in  self-sacrificing  labors ;  and 
not  a  few  of  them  have  in  their  respective 
spheres  seen  great  results.  A  noble  lesson  to 
all  believers.  Let  every  one  whose  heart  has 
been  touched  with  the  love  of  Christ  do  what 
he  can:  let  him  endeavor  to  promote  humbly 


EARNEST  TIMES.  T 

and  perseveringly  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  he 
will  in  no  wise  lose  his  reward.  Life,  says 
Fuller,  is  to  be  measured  by  action,  not  by 
time :  a  man  may  die  old  at  thirty,  and  young 
at  eighty ;  the  one  lives  after  death,  tlie  other 
perished  before  he  died. 

It  is  a  time  of  great  responsibility.  What 
opportunities  for  doing  good  are  within  the 
reach  of  every  Christian.  The  fields  are  white 
nnto  the  harvest.  How  earnest  the  laborers 
should  be.  Never  Avas  there  such  a  season  of 
working  for  Christ.  All  God's  faithful  people 
should  be  up  and  doing.  And  what  a  time  for 
the  unconverted.  They  are  in  a  Christless 
state ;  they  hope,  however,  to  be  converted 
Ijefore  they  die ;  but  when,  if  not  now  ?  Many 
others  are  being  awakened,  while  they  remain 
asleep.  Many  others  are  yielding  to  the  claims 
of  Jesus,  while  they  are  resisting  the  influences 
of  his  grace.  Many  others  are  being  brought 
to  a  saving  knowledge  of  the  truth,  while  they 
are  still  living  on  in  indifference  to  the  inter- 
ests of  their  souls.  If  they  be  not  moved  at 
such  a  time  as  this,  the  probability  is  they  will 
never  be  moved  at  all. 


8  A  TKESENT  SAVIOUR. 

How  is  it  with  you?  If  religion  be  any 
thing,  it  is  every  thing.  If  it  be  important  at 
all,  it  is  all-important.  If  it  demand  any  con- 
cern, it  demands  your  supreme  concern.  Are 
you  judging  thus,  and  acting  accordingly?  I 
would  have  you  sit  down  quietly  and  consider 
this  matter.  Make  it  the  subject  of  earnest 
thought,  and  deal  with  it  as  one  who  knows 
the  vast  interests  at  stake.  A  Christian  trav- 
eller tells  us  that  he  saw  the  following  admo- 
nition printed  on  a  folio  sheet  in  an  inn  in 
Savoy,  and  it  was  found,  he  learned,  in  every 
house  in  the  district:  "Understand  well  the 
force  of  the  words — a  God,  a  moment,  an  eter- 
nity: a  God  who  sees  you,  a  moment  Avhich 
flies  from  you,  an  eternity  which  awaits  you ;  a 
God  whom  you  serve  so  ill,  a  moment  of  which 
you  so  little  profit,  an  eternity  which  you  haz- 
ard so  rashly." 

Grace  is  flowing  like  a  river ; 

Millions  there  have  been  supplied ; 
Still  it  flows  as  fresh  as  ever 

From  the  Saviour's  wounded  side. 


DANGER 


I. 

DANGER. 


"  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  liv- 
ing God."     Heb.  10:31. 

If  unconverted,  you  are  in  a  state  of  fearful 
peril.  It  might  well  make  the  blood  run  cold 
to  think  of  it.  You  are  every  moment  exposed 
to  eternal  death.  Have  you  no  saving  interest 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ?  Are  you  not  born 
again?  Have  you  undergone  no  change  of 
heart?  Then  I  must  plainly  tell  you  and  fairly 
warn  you  of  your  state.  You  are  under  sen- 
tence of  condemnation.  You  are  subject  to  the 
wrath  of  God.  You  are  liable  to  the  pains  of 
hell. 

What  keeps  the  sinner  out  of  that  world  of  mis- 
ery  ?  Nothing  but  the  mere  will  of  God.  He 
is  in  the  hands  of  God.  At  every  hour  he  is 
dependent  for  existence  on  God.  Let  God 
speak  the  word,  and  he  is  landed  in  hell.  No 
one  can  help  him.    He  is  very  feebleness.     As 


10  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR.     - 

easily  as  you  crnsli  a  worm,  so  easily  can  God 
crush  a  sinner.  Is  be  safe  a  moment,  then? 
There  are  numberless  ways  in  which  he  may 
die.  Eternity  is  very  near  him.  There  is  but 
a  step  between  him  and  death,  and  there  is  but 
a  step  between  him  and  hell.  He  may  be  now 
in  health  and  strengtii.  He  may  have  his  plans 
laid  down  for  the  future.  He  may  think  that 
the  day  of  death  is  still  far  off.  But  there  are 
ever  flying  around  him  the  unseen  shafts  of 
death.  One  of  these  may  suddenly  strike  him 
down.  And  then  all  is  lost.  How  many  are 
di'iiloring  to-day  their  unutterable  folly.  They 
had  means  of  grace.  They  had  the  gospel 
offer.  They  were  told  of  their  danger  and  of 
the  way  of  escape.  But  they  are  dead  and 
gone  to  hell.  And  how  so?  They  rejected 
Christ.  They  lived  on  in  worldliness  and  sin. 
They  died  unsaved.  No  doubt  they  had  seri- 
ous thoughts  at  times.  They  never  intended 
to  go  to  the  place  of  misery.  They  thought 
it  would  be  far  otlierwise  with  them.  But 
death  came  suddenly  and  unexpectedly,,  and 
they  are  left  to  mourn  with  bitter  grief  over 
their  hopeless  state.    Lifers  little  day  is  to  deter- 


DANGER.  11 

mine  the  character  of  man^s  eternity.  And  yet 
the  sinner  has  not  yet  begun  the  mighty  work 
given  him  to  do.  Is  not  this  a  strange  thing 
indeed  ?  Think  of  eternal  woe.  Think  of  the 
millions  of  millions  of  ages  in  wdiich  the  wrath 
of  the  Lamb  is  to  be  endured.  Think  of  the 
terrible  hopelessness  of  the  damned.  All  that 
I  can  possibly  say  of  it  comes  infmitely  short 
of  the  truth.  But  to  all  this  tlie  sinner  is  ex- 
posed. He  may  be  near  the  end  of  his  stay  on 
earth.  The  sun  may  have  shone  on  him  for  the 
last  time.  Never  may  he  hear  another  call  of 
mercy.  The  arrow  may  be  on  the  wing  that  is 
to  cut  him  down.  To-morrow  he  may  be  in  his 
coffin. 

How  is  it  with  your  soul?  Do  think  on  it. 
Are  you  safe  for  eternity?  Have  you  heartily 
embraced  the  Saviour  and  turned  to  God?  Is 
your  salvation  sure  through  livi-ng  faith  in 
Christ?  Have  you  found  peace?  How  strange- 
ly solemn  are  such  questions.  They  concern 
your  well-being  for  ever  and  ever.  If  you  have 
yet  no  hope  in  Christ,  it  becomes  you  to  bestir 
yourself  at  once.  Soon  may  the  door  of  mercy 
be  shut.     This  very  night  your  soul  may  be 


12  A  PRESENT   SAVIOUR. 

required  of  you.  Philip  Henry  said  to  some 
of  his  neighbors,  who  came  to  see  him  on 
his  death-bed,  "  Oh,  make  sure  work  for  your 
souls,  by  getting  an  interest  in  Christ  while 
you  are  in  health.  If  I  had  that  work  to  do 
now,  what  would  become  of  me  ?  I  bless  God 
I  am  satisfied.  See  to  it,  all  of  you,  that  your 
work  be  not  undone  when  your  time  is  done, 
lest  you  be  undone  for  ever.'' 

Then  what  my  thoughts  design  to  do, 
My  hands  with  all  your  might  pursue, 
Since  no  device  nor  work  is  found, 
Nor  faith  nor  hope  beneath  the  ground. 

There  are  no  acts  of  pardon  passed 
In  the  cold  grave  to  which  wo  haste ; 
But  darkness,  death,  and  long  despair 
Reign  in  eternal  silence  there. 


ASLEEP.  13 

II. 

ASLEEP. 

"What  meanest  tlion,  0  sleeper?    Arise,  call  upon  thy 
God."     Jonah  1:G. 

The  sinner  asleep!  Nay,  is  he  not  wide 
awake?  is  lie  not  active,  busy,  full  of  life?  So 
far  as  tlie  world  is  concerned,  this  is  true.  He 
moves  about  engrossed  with  earthly  cares. 
And  yet  in  regard  to  spiritual  and  eternal 
things  he  is  in  a  dead  sleep. 

Sleep  is  a  state  of  darkness ;  and  the  sinner 
is  in  such  a  state.  There  are  scales  on  his  eyes. 
Satan  hath  blinded  him.  He  sees  not  things 
in  their  true  light.  Sin,  how  odious  it  is !  but 
he  does  not  see  its  vileness.  Holiness,  hoAV 
attractive  it  is!  but  he  does  not  see  its  beauty. 
The  soul,  how  inexpressibly  valuable  it  is!  but 
he  does  not  see  its  worth.  Christ,  how  alto- 
gether lovely  he  is!  but  he  does  not  see  His 
preciousness.  Salvation,  how  infinitely  impor- 
tant it  is!  but  he  does  not  see  its  unutterable 


14  A  PRESENT   SAVIOUR. 

excellency.  The  pure  and  piercing  eye  of  God 
is  ever  on  him.  Above  him  heaven  unveils  its 
glories.  Hell  yawns  at  his  very  feet.  Bnt  all 
is  darkness  to  him. 

Sleep  is  a  state  of  insensihility ;  and  the  sin- 
ner is  in  such  a  state.  God  speaks  to  him, 
calls  him,  pleads  with  him.  Jesus  knocks  at 
his  door  and  seeks  admittance.  The  Holy 
Ghost  draws  near  and  whispers  in  his  ear  many 
a  word  of  warning,  invitation,  and  promise. 
But  no  response  is  given. 

Sleep  is  a  state  of  dreams ;  and  the  sinner  is 
in  such  a  state.  He  is  taken  up  with  shadows 
and  trifles,  and  walks  in  a  vain  show.  He  may 
get  a  passing  glimpse  of  the  grand  realities  of 
-  life,  God,  Christ,  eternity ;  but  he  soon  falls 
back  into  dream-land  again.  Just  look  at  him. 
He  is  poor,  penniless,  sunk  in  hopeless  bank- 
ruptcy ;  but  he  fancies  he  is  rich  and  increased 
in  goods,  and  in  need  of  nothing.  He  is  away 
from  the  light  and  peace  and  security  of  home; 
})ut  he  fancies  he  is  within  reach  of  all  that  is 
required  to  satisfy  his  heart.  A  sentence  of 
condemnation  has  been  passed  on  him ;  but  he 
fancies  he  has  nothing  to  fear.     He  is  on  the 


ASLEEP.  15 

very  brink  of  a  dark  and  unprovidcd-for  eter- 
nity; but  he  fancies  that  all  is  ^vel\  with  him. 

Sleep  is  a  state  o^  inactivity ;  and  the  sinner 
is  in  such  a  state.  What,  is  he  not  full  of  en- 
ergy ?  See  with  what  earnestness  he  toils  for 
bread,  or  power,  or  money.  Who  shall  say 
that  he  does  nothing  ?  But  what  is  he  doing 
for  liis  soul?  Nothing  at  all.  What  is  he 
doing  for  the  highest  interests  of  his  fellow- 
men  ?  They  may  go  down  to  the  pit,  so  far  as 
he  is  concerned.  What  is  he  doing  for  God — 
that  God  who  made  him;  tliat  God  in  wliom 
he  lives  and  moves  and  has  his  being ;  that 
God  who  sent  his  own  dear  Son  to  die  for  sin- 
ners? He  bears  no  love  to  him,  and  performs 
no  service  for  him.  What  is  he  doing  to  pre- 
pare for  death  ?  It  hardly  costs  him  a  thought. 
What  is  he  doing  for  eternity  ?  He  is  making 
the  most  of  time,  and  leaving  eternity  to  take 
care  of  itself. 

How  is  it  with  you?  Are  you  asleep?  If 
so,  awake,  I  beseecli  you.  You  may  suppose 
that  you  are  safe  enough ;  you  may  see  no  need 
of  being  disturbed;  you  may  fancy  that  there 
is  no  reason  why  you  should  be  afraid:   but 


16  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

liow  trne  the  remark  of  President  Edwards: 
"  While  unconverted,  you  stand  over  the  mouth 
of  hell  by  a  single  plank,  and  that  plank  is 
rotten."  And  you  must  awake  some  day.  No 
one  can  sleep  on  for  ever.  There  is  to  he  a 
universal  awakening  of  the  body,  and  there  is 
to  be  a  universal  awakening  of  the  soul.  It 
will  be  well  for  you  to  awake  now.  If  you 
do  not,  a  terrible  awakening  will  come — an 
awakening  to  the  awful  realities  of  a  lost  eter- 
nity. 

Since  on  this  winged  hour 

Eternity  is  hung, 
Waken  by  thine  almighty  power 

The  aged  and  the  young. 


A  PRISONER  OP  HOPE.       .  17 

III. 

A  PRISONER  OF  HOPE. 

"Turn  ye  to  the  strong-hold,  ye  prisoners  of  hope." 
Zecii.  9 :  12. 

The  sinner  is  a  prisoner;  there  are  chains 
that  bind  him.  He  is  a  captive  slave.  Most 
pitiable  state!  But  provision  has  been  made 
for  his  deliverance.  A  strong-hold  is  within 
his  reach.  He  may  turn  to  it  and  enjoy  the 
sweets  of  liberty. 

Man  was  not  a  prisoner  once.  No  chains 
were  about  him  when  he  walked  in  a  sinless 
paradise.  He  had  all  the  bearing  and  all  the 
feelings  of  a  free  man.  True,  he  was  the  ser- 
vant of  God.  But  this  in  no  degree  interfered 
with  his  liberty.  Jehovah's  service  was  felt 
to  be  perfect  freedom.  But  how  different  now ! 
Sin  and  Satan  lord  it  over  him.  He  may  not 
see  and  feel  his  fetters;  he  may  boast  of  his 
freedom ;  he  may  scorn  the  idea  of  being  a 
prisoner  and  a  slave.  It  was  so  with  the  Jews. 
They  were  offended  with  Christ  speaking  to 


18  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

tlicm  about  the  trutli  making  them  free.  They 
answered,  "We  are  Abraham's  seed,  and  were 
never  in  bondage  to  any  man :  how  sayest 
tliou,  we  shall  be  made  free?''  And  it  is  so 
now.  Man  in  his  nnawakened  state  is  not 
conscious  of  his  tliraldom,  and  has  no  desire  to 
be  free.  This  is  the  most  melancholy  thing 
about  the  sinner.  He  is  bewitched.  He  is  in 
a  condition  of  terrible  insensibility.  You  sel- 
dom hear  from  him  a  murmur  against  the 
tyranny  of  Satan's  rule. 

But  the  sinner  is  a  prisoner  of  hope.  His 
condition  may  be  changed;  no  necessity  binds 
him  down  to  his  present  state.  There  are 
other  prisoners  in  the  universe  in  a  far  worse 
condition.  For  them  there  is  no  hope;  but 
they  are  prisoners  of  despair.  Oh,  what  a 
world  of  misery  is  hell !  It  is  the  region  of 
outer  darkness.  But  surely  this  must  be  the 
most  bitter  element  in  the  cup  of  wrath  which 
its  inmates  are  called  to  drink,  that  there  is 
for  them  no  hope.  The  great  gulf  cannot  be 
crossed  by  any  angel  of  mercy ;  the  bars  of  the 
prison-house  cannot  be  withdrawn;  no  dawn 
can  break  on  the  long  and  dreary  night.     You 


A  PRISONER  OF  HOPE.  19 

cannot  tell  me  the  number  of  the  blades  of 
grass  that  clothe  the  mountain-side;  you  can- 
not tell  me  the  number  of  the  stars  which  light 
up  the  arch  of  heaven;  you  cannot  tell  me  the 
number  of  the  grains  of  sand  which  lie  on 
ocean's  shores :  but  all  this  you  could  do  far 
sooner  than  tell  me  the  number  of  the  ages  of 
a  lost  eternity.  For  ever  is  written  in  blazing 
characters  on  the  portals  of  hell.  But  it  is 
not  so  with  the  sinner  now ;  lie  may  be  free. 

One  has  come  preaching  deliverance  to  the 
captive,  and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them 
that  are  bound.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is 
stronger  than  the  strong  man  who  keeps  the 
sinner  in  servitude.  We  have  but  to  turn  to 
him — to  look  to  him — to  betake  ourselves  to 
him,  and  we  are  safe.  If  the  Son  make  us 
free,  we  are  free  indeed:  not  that  all  the 
sweets  of  spiritual  liberty  are  enjoyed  on 
earth ;  some  traces  of  his  former  state  of  bond- 
age cling  to  the  believer  till  his  dying  day; 
but  he  anticipates  a  glorious  future,  and  even 
now  he  can  sing  with  holy  David,  "  Our  soul  is 
escaped  as  a  bird  out  of  the  snare  of  the  fowl- 
er: the  snare  is  broken,  and  we  are  escaped." 


20  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

How  is  it  with  you  ?  Are  you  still  tied  and 
bound  with  tlie  chains  of  sin  ?  Have  you  not 
yet  turned  to  the  strong-hold?  Are  you  not 
united  by  living  faith  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ? 
Is  it  wise,  is  it  safe  to  continue  a  day  longer 
in  such  a  state?  This  is  the  time  of  deliver- 
ance. To-morrow  the  possibility  of  freedom 
may  be  beyond  your  reach. 

He  comes  the  prisoners  to  release, 

In  Satan's  bondage  held ; 
The  gates  of  brass  before  him  burst, 

The  iron  fetters  yield. 


PEACE,  PEACE!  21 

IV. 

PEACE,  PEACE! 

"  They  have  healed  also  the  hurt  of  the  daughter  of  my 
people  slightly,  saymg,  Peace,  peace ;  when  there  is  no 
peace."     Jer.  6  :  14. 

You  may  be  in  a  state  of  carnal  security. 
You  may  be  fancying  that  all  is  well;  you 
may  be  supposing  that  you  have  no  grounds 
for  fear;  you  may  be  indulging  tlie  idea  that 
your  soul  is  safe,  and  yet  all  the  while  you 
may  be  in  a  state  of  condemnation.  You  may 
be  saying,  "Peace,  peace,"  when  there  is  no 
peace.  This  may  be  a  true  description  of  your 
state  before  God. 

Yery  many  are  at  peace  just  because  they 
never  seriously  think  about  the  salvation  of  their 
soul.  Foster  says,  There  is  nothing  which  we 
shall  regret  so  much,  when  we  have  left  this 
world,  as  our  want  of  thought.  How  true 
will  this  be  of  such  as  are  careless  about  their 
spiritual  condition.  They  are  engrossed  with 
other  matters  ;  business,  pleasures,  family  cares 


22  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

occupy  their  minds  and  hearts,  and  they  never 
bestow  a  half-hour's  earnest  thoudit  on  their 

o 

highest,  their  eternal  interests.  How  terribly 
will  their  peace  be  broken  up ! 

Very  many  are  at  peace,  because  they  are  rest- 
i7ig  on  mistaken  notions  of  the  grounds  of  a  sin- 
ner's acceptance  with  God.  They  are  ortho- 
dox in  their  views,  and  can  talk  fluently  on  the 
doctrines  of  the  gospel.  They  bear  a  charac- 
ter for  respectability  and  godliness.  Their 
hopes  for  eternity  are  built  on  these  things. 
But  how  ruinous  such  a  notion.  A  man  may 
have  an  orthodox  head,  and  yet  have  the  devil 
in  his  heart.  A  man  may  have  his  name  in  the 
list  of  the  members  of  the  church,  and  yet  not 
have  his  name  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life.  A 
man  may  pass  through  the  world  and  make  a 
fiiir  profession,  and  yet  after  all  be  lost.  "All 
that  you  can  tell  me,"  said  one  on  a  dying  bed, 
"  I  have  long  known  well ;  but  I  tell  you  I  have 
lived  without  real  religion.  I  was  forward  in 
the  church,  but  fixed  in  the  world;  and  my 
profession  only  serves  to  terrify  me." 

True  peace  is  a  most  blessed  thing.  It  is  a 
peace  which  comes  from  God,  and  which  the 


PEACE, PEACE!  23 

world  cannot  give.  It  is  a  peace  which  may 
be  felt.  It  is  a  peace  which  passes  all  under- 
standing. And  whence  does  it  flow?  From 
a  sense  of  forgiven  sin,  and  acceptance  with 
God  through  Jesus  Christ.  Christianity,  says 
Luther,  consists  in  personal  pronouns;  and 
never  can  a  human  soul  have  real  and  abiding 
peace  till  it  can  call  Jesus  my  Lord  and  my 
God,  and  can  feel,  Jesus  died  not  only  for 
others,  but  for  me. 

Have  you  this  peace?  Did  you  ever  hear 
Jesus  say  in  the  depths  of  your  troubled  heart, 
"  Your  sins  are  forgiven  you  ?"  Is  he  your 
personal  Saviour  and  friend  ?  Hear  and  weigh 
well  what  godly  Rutherford  says,  "Oh,  make 
your  heaven  sure,  and  try  how  you  came  by 
conversion.  It  is  wisdom  in  you  to  be  plain, 
honest,  sharp  with  your  soul.  Remember  what 
peace  with  God  in  Christ  will  be  to  you  when 
you  come  to  the  black  and  swelling  river  of 
death.  Let  me  entreat  of  you,  by  your  ap- 
pearance before  the  dreadful,  sin-avenging 
Judge  of  the  world,  to  make,  your  accounts 
ready:  read  them  ere  you  come  to  the  water- 
side.    It  were  not  amiss  to  think.  What  if  it 


24  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

come  to  this — that  I  have  no  portion  but  outer 
darkness,  and  be  banished  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord,  and  be  given  over  to  the  power 
of  the  second  death?  Put  yourself  by  suppo- 
sition in  such  a  case,  and  consider  what  horror 
will  take  hold  of  your  poor  soul.  This  is  the 
accepted  time;  this  is  the  day  of  salvation. 
There  are  many  weary  heads  lying  on  Christ's 
bosom,  and  there  is  room  for  yours  among  the 
rest."  Think  Avell  on  these  solemn  words; 
examine  anxiously  the  grounds  of  your  peace. 
There  is  but  one  foundation  for  the  sinner's 
hope — the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  See  that  you 
have  a  saving  interest  in  him.  I  know  no 
other  resting-place  for  a  guilty  soul.  On  that 
foundation  alone  can  it  have  security  and  peace. 

Convince  us  of  our  sin, 
Then  lead  to  Jesus'  blood ; 

And  to  our  wondering  view  reveal 
The  secret  love  of  God. 


ONE  AT  THE  DOOR.  25 


V. 

ONE  AT  THE  DOOR. 
"  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock."     Rev.  3: 20. 

The  soul  is  represented  in  Scripture  under 
the  figure  of  a  house ;  and  a  noble  house  it 
originally  was.  It  was  built  of  polished  stones. 
It  was  proportioned  with  exquisite  skill.  II 
was  a  masterpiece  of  work.  And  there  was 
one  thing  which  more  than  any  other  ennobled 
it — it  was  the  residence  of  God.  But  how  dif- 
ferent the  soul  in  its  natural  state  now.  Sin 
has  marred  its  glory.  God  has  been  excluded 
from  it.  With  a  few  lingering  traces  of  its 
primeval  grandeur,  it  is  dark  and  ruinous  and 
foul.  But  what  a  strange  sight  you  have  here. 
God  has  not  utterly  destroyed  the  soul.  In  his 
infinite  condescension  and  pitifulness  he  desires 
to  repair  its  ruins,  and  to  dwell  in  it  again. 
And  lo,  in  the  person  of  his  Son  he  is  repre- 
sented as  standing  at  the  door  of  it,  and  seek- 
ing  admission.     He   knows   that  it  is   sadly 


2G  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

changed  from  what  it  was — that  it  is  full  of 
darkness  and  discord  and  enmity;  but  he 
would  have  j^ou  turn  the  rusty  lock  and  open 
the  door,  that  he  may  fill  all  its  chambers  with 
light  and  music  and  joy. 

The  Son  of  God  stands  at  the  sinner's  door. 
Marvellous  spectacle!  The  Lord  of  glory 
seeking  admission  into  a  human  heart !  And 
yet  so  it  is ;  just  because  you  are  a  sinner  he  is 
there.  He  knows  your  needs ;  and  in  love  past 
finding  out,  he  comes  to  befriend  and  bless  you. 
You  are  poor,  he  would  enrich  you ;  you  are 
hungry  and  thirsty,  he  would  feed  you  and  give 
you  drink;  you  are  covered  with  rags,  he 
would  clothe  you  with  a  robe  of  righteousness ; 
you  are  blind,  he  would  give  you  sight;  you 
are  afiiicted  with  a  terrible  disease,  he  would 
cure  you  and  make  you  whole.  Did  ever  friend 
come  to  your  door  laden  with  such  blessings  as 
these  ? 

The  Son  of  God  stands  at  the  sinner's  door. 
He  does  not  wait  till  you  seek  him,  he  comes 
to  you;  he  draws  near  to  your  very  heart. 
Has  lie  been  long  standing  there?  Let  con- 
science answer.     Many  a  year  perhaps ;    but 


ONE  AT  THE  DOOR.  21 

he  has  not  yet  gone  away.  You  may  have 
been  coldly  indifferent  to  his  presence,  and 
may  have  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  his  gentle  voice ; 
"but  he  is  waiting  still.  And  now  his  limbs  are 
weary  of  standing,  and  his  hands  are  weary  of 
knocking,  and  his  voice  is  weary  of  pleading, 
and  soon  may  he  leave  the  door. 

The  Son  of  God  knocks.  Listen!  his  hand 
is  on  the  door.  He  would  awaken  you  and 
make  you  open  to  him.  By  his  holy  woj^d  he 
knocks.  It  gives  you  many  a  warning,  and 
presents  you  witli  many  a  promise.  By  the  dis- 
'pensations  of  his  providence  he  knocks.  Are 
your  worldly  plans  succeeding,  and  is  your 
home  full  of  gladness  ?  Daily  mercies  have  a 
voice ;  they  bid  you  open  the  door.  Are  you 
Ij'ing  on  a  bed  of  sickness?  Have  you  met 
with  some  severe  loss?  Has  the  grave  just 
closed  over  some  dear  object  of  your  love  ? 
Trials  have  a  voice.  They  bid  you  open  the 
door.  By  his  Spirit  he  knocks.  He  is  doing 
so  with  peculiar  urgency  at  the  present  day ; 
and  not  in  vain.  The  door  of  many  a  soul  is 
opening,  and  Jesus  is  entering  in. 

Are  you  still  treating  Jesus  with  cold  neg- 


28  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

lect?  Is  your  door  still  shut  against  him? 
Does  he  still  stand  without?  Oh  what  ingrati- 
tude and  folly  and  guilt!  His  gentle  form  was 
bruised  for  you ;  his  hands  and  his  feet  were 
nailed  for  you  to  a  cruel  cross ;  his  voice  cried 
for  you,  "  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even 
unto  death."  To  keep  the  door  shut  against 
him,  is  not  this  ingratitude  ?  He  would  give 
you  all  you  need.  He  would  free  you  from 
evil  in  every  form.  He  would  make  you  fully 
and  for  ever  happy.  To  keep  the  door  shut 
against  him,  is  not  this  consummate  folly? 
You  are  bound  to  love  and  honor  and  serve 
him.  To  keep  the  door  shut  against  him,  is 
not  this  damning  guilt  ? 

Sovereign  of  souls,  the  Prince  of  peace, 
Oh  may  thy  gentle  reign  increase  ; 
Throw  wide  the  door,  each  willing  mind, 
And  be  his  empire  all  mankind. 


AWAKENED.  29 


YI. 

AWAKENED. 

"  Now  when  they  heard  this,  they  were  pricked  in 
their  heart."     Acts  2 :  37. 

Have  you  been  awakened  ?  Have  your  eyes 
been  opened  to  your  true  state  as  a  sinner 
before  God?  Do  you  see  and  feel  your  guilt 
and  folly  and  danger  ?  It  is  well.  You  may 
be  troubled.  Fear  and  trembling  may  fill  your 
heart.  It  may  be  a  time  of  deep  and  sore  dis- 
tress ;  but  surely  this  is  better  than  to  live  on 
asleep :  better  to  awake  on  earth  than  to  awake 
in  hell. 

I  do  not  wonder  at  your  distress.  What  have 
you  been  doing  ?  You  have  been  living  in  the 
world  without  God — that  God  in  whom  you 
live  and  move  and  have  your  being.  You 
have  been  neglecting  a  loving  Saviour,  who 
shed  for  you  his  precious  blood.  You  have 
been  resisting  the  strivings  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
You  have   been   spending   your   time  wholly 


30  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

taken  up  with  the  world  that  now  is,  and  giv- 
ing little  or  no  heed  to  the  vast  interests  of  the 
world  to  come.  You  have  been  forgetting  the 
grand  end  of  3^our  existence  upon  earth.  Do 
you  now  see  your  unspeakable  folly  ?  If  so,  I 
am  not  astonished  at  your  being  sad  in  heart. 
Not  to  have  loved  God ;  not  to  have  received 
the  Saviour ;  not  to  have  welcomed  the  Spirit's 
influences ;  not  to  have  prized  salvation ;  not  to 
have  attended  to  your  precious  soul :  -  how 
great  such  guilt ! 

But  it  is  not  enough  to  he  awakened.  Many  in 
your  state  never  obtain  salvation.  Tears  and 
sorrow  cannot  take  to  heaven.  I  have  known 
not  a  few  once  in  great  distress  about  their 
sins  who  have  fallen  back  into  a  state  of  utter 
indifference.  They  were  pricked  in  heart; 
they  were  deeply  moved;  you  saw  in  their 
countenance  the  signs  of  great  inward  trouble ; 
it  seemed  as  if  the  new  birth  had  taken  place 
in  them.  We  hoped  that  they  were  truly  con- 
verted and  brought  to  Christ:  but  the  world 
got  hold  of  them  again;  and  now  they  are  as 
unconcerned  about  eternal  things  as  ever.  You 
think  it  can  never  be  so  with  you.     Your  feel- 


AWAKENED.  31 

ings  are  warm ;  and  you  fancy  tliat  for  you  to 
fall  back  into  a  state  of  indifference  is  utterly 
impossible.  Well,  then  cherish  your  convic- 
tions: seek  to  have  an  abiding  sense  of  your 
sinfulness ;  get  still  blacker  views  of  your  un- 
belief, ingratitude,  and  selfishness.  Beware 
lest  a  thoughtless  world  should  persuade  you 
that  all  this  uneasiness  is  uncalled  for  ;  but  let 
it  be  your  most  earnest  desire  to  have  a  deep 
sense  of  your  low  and  lost  condition  before 
God. 

And  remember  that  if  you  lose  your  present 
convictions,  and  be  finally  lost,  it  will  be  far 
worse  for  you  than  it  would  otherwise  have 
been.  To  think  in  eternity  on  days  of  awak- 
ening, on  times  of  sorrow  for  sin,  on  occasions 
when  you  gave  yourself  to  prayer  and  serious 
thought,  and  to  think  that  you  afterwards 
allowed  yourself  to  fall  back  into  a  state  of 
indifference  and  worldliness,  will  not  this 
immensely  aggravate  the  bitterness  of  your 
future  doom  ?  Listen  to  the  solemn  words  of 
McCheyne:  "Be  not  content  with  half  work. 
Never  rest  without  converting  grace.  Make  a 
full  surrender  of  your  soul  to  God.     Halt  not 


32  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

between  two  opinions.  Decide  to  be  altogether 
Christ's.  If  you  come  just  up  to  the  gate  of 
heaven,  and  see  the  streets  of  shining  gold  and 
the  happy  faces  of  the  glorious  ones  who  walk 
there;  if  you  hear  their  songs,  loud  as  the 
voice  of  many  waters,  sweet  as  the  harpers 
harping  on  their  harps ;  and  yet,  if  the  gate  be 
shut  against  you,  and  Christ  say,  'I  know  you 
not,'  what  words  can  tell  the  agony  with  which 
you  will  go  away  to  lie  down  in  sorrow — to  lie 
down  in  hell?  If  there  be  one  wailing  cry 
from  that  sad  abode  more  dismal  than  another, 
it  will  be  the  bitter  wailing  of  the  almost 
Christian." 

Is  there  a  thing  beneath  the  sun, 

That  strives  with  thee  my  heart  to  share  ? 

Ah,  tear  it  hence,  and  reign  alone, 
The  Lord  of  every  motion  there. 

Then  shall  my  heart  from  earth  be  free, 

When  it  hath  found  repose  in  thee. 


WHAT  MUST  I  DO  TO  BE  SAVED?     33 


VIL  ' 

WHAT  MUST  I  DO  TO  BE  SAVED? 

"  He  came  trembling,  and  fell  down  before  Paul  and 
Silas,  and  said,  Sirs,  what  mnst  I  do  to  be  saved?" 
Acts  16:29,  30. 

What  a  solemn  question !  It  is  the  cry  of 
an  awakened  sinner.  And  how  momentous  his 
inquiry.  He  has  got  a  view  of  his  guilt  and 
his  danger.  He  knows  that  before  him  is  a 
dark  eternity,  and  beneath  him  an  angry  hell, 
and  he  looks  around  for  deliverance  from  his 
perilous  position.     Whence  is  relief  to  come  ? 

Some  in  the  dark  regions  of  heathendom  are 
offering  costly  sacrifices.  They  are  heaping  on 
a  rude  pile  bleeding  victims.  They  are  sub- 
jecting themselves  to  painful  acts  of  self-denial, 
and  giving  of  the  fruit  of  their  body  for  the 
sin  of  their  soul.  They  are  trusting  to  these 
modes  of  propitiating  the  anger  of  an  offended 
God.  Yain  notion.  The  favor  of  the  Al- 
mighty is  not  to  be  secured  thus.    Others,  again, 


34  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

are  making  a  fair  profession.  They  are  regu- 
lar in  their  attendance  on  ordinances.  They 
are  professing  members  of  the  Christian  church. 
They  are  respectable  religionists.  Because  of 
this  they  expect  to  be  saved.  Yain  notion.  Not 
thus  can  they  inherit  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Others  are  depending  on  the  unblemished  moral 
character  they  bear.  They  are  good  citizens. 
They  are  kind  and  generous  friends.  They 
are  well-disposed  neighbors.  All  this  will  go 
so  far,  they  think,  and  Christ's  merits  will  make 
up  the  difference.  Vain  notion.  By  no  such 
piece  of  patchwork  as  this  is  man  to  be  saved. 
A  woman  called  one  day  on  Dr.  Chalmers 
in  great  distress  of  mind.  "  Oh,  doctor,"  said 
she,  "what  must  I  do  to  get  peace?"  '' Do?'^ 
replied  he;  "nothing."  "Nothing?"  replied  the 
disappointed  inquirer;  "nothing?  Is  that  all 
the  comfort  you  have  for  me  ?"  "  Yes,  that  is 
all ;  you  have  nothing  to  do,  but  you  have 
something  to  take.  It 's  all  done.  Christ  has 
done  it.  He  has  bought  a  pardon  and  peace 
for  you,  and  you  have  got  to  take  it."  "I  see 
it,  I  see  it,"  replied  the  woman  joyfully,  and 
left  in  peace. 


WHAT  MUST  I  DO  TO  BE  SAVED?     35 

Do  you  see  it?  There  is  no  mystery  about 
it.  It  is  a  simple,  though  great  and  wondrous 
redemptive  scheme.  Jesus  the  eternal  Son  of 
God  became  your  surety.  He  made  a  mighty 
stoop ;  he  left  heaven ;  he  clothed  himself  in 
robes  of  clay,  and  came  to  earth ;  he  stood  in 
your  room  and  stead ;  he  obeyed  the  whole  law 
for  you;  he  suffered  for  you  an  ignominious 
death,  and  bore  the  penalty  your  sins  deserv- 
ed ;  he  wrought  out  for  you  a  perfect  righteous- 
ness. And  now  from  his  throne  in  glory  he 
says  to  you,  "  Believe  on  me  as  your  Saviour ; 
look  upon  God  as  your  reconciled  Father 
through  me ;  ask  of  him  to  accept  of  you  be- 
cause of  my  obedience  and  death  :  thus  seek  to 
be  one  with  me  ;  regard  me  as  your  salvation; 
cast  yourself  for  eternity  on  me:  do  this,  and 
live  for  ever." 

Look  away  from  yourself  in  the  great  mat- 
ter of  acceptance  with  God.  You  have  noth- 
ing to  do  but  to  trust.  Faith  in  Jesus  Christ 
to  save  is  the  way  to  heaven.  A  certain  anx- 
ious inquirer  could  not  get  peace.  Her  con- 
victions of  sin  were  deep  and  clear.  She  as- 
sented  to   all   the    doctrines  of  grace.      She 


36  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

sought  earnestly  to  attain  salvation.  But  she 
could  get  no  comfort  for  a  time.  At  length 
she  came  to  a  friend,  and  told  him  she  had 
made  a  new  discovery.  On  being  asked  what 
it  was  she  had  found  out,  she  replied  that  the 
way  of  salvation  all  seemed  to  her  now  per- 
fectly plain ;  that  the  darkness  was  gone,  and 
that  she  saw  now  what  she  never  saw  before. 
On  the  question  being  put  to  her  what  she  saw 
now,  she  said,  "  Do  n't  you  think  the  reason 
why  we  do  not  get  out  of  darkness  sooner,  is 
that  we  don't  believe?  As  you  were  read- 
ing a  hymn  last  night,  I  saw  the  whole  way  of 
salvation  perfectly  plain,  and  wondered  that  I 
had  never  seen  it  before.  I  saw  that  I  had 
nothing  whatever  to  do  but  to  trust  in  Christ. 
The  verses  which  brought  me  to  peace  were 
these : 

My  soul  obeys  the  almighty  call, 

And  runs  to  this  rehef ; 
I  would  believe  thy  promise,  Lord,    . 

Oh  help  mine  unbelief. 

A  guilty,  weak,  and  helpless  worm, 

On  thy  kind  arms  I  fall ; 
Be  thou  my  strength  and  righteousness, 

My  Jesus  and  my  all. 


JESUS.  3t 

yiii. 

JESUS. 

"Thou  shalt  call  liis  name  Jesus;  for  he  shall  save  his 
people  from  then-  sins."     Matt.  1:21. 

What  a  precious  name  is  the  name  of  Jesus. 
How  sweet  and  soothing  and  joyous.  To  how 
many  weary  hearts  it  affords  refreshment  and 
rest.  It  means  Saviour,  and  Jesus  saves  his 
people  from  their  sins.  They  are  guilty ;  but 
he  saves  them  from  guilt.  They  are  unholy ; 
but  he  saves  them  from  the  power  of  indwell- 
ing iniquity.  They  are  by  nature  liable  to  the 
punishment  of  eternal  death ;  but  he  saves  them 
from  all  the  woful  consequences  of  the  fall. 

Jesus  can  save  you  from  the  guilt  of  sin. 
That  guilt  exposes  you  to  the  wrath  and  curse 
of  God.  It  renders  you  liable  to  helL  Be- 
cause of  it  you  are  in  danger  of  all  the  miser- 
ies of  everlasting  death.  Whither  can  you  flee 
for  security? 

There  is  but  one  shelter  for  the  soul — Jesus 


38  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

Christ.  Repair  to  liim ;  put  your  trust  in  him  ; 
secure  by  faith  a  saving  interest  in  him.  In 
that  case  all  is  well;  the  stains  of  guilt  are 
washed  away  in  his  atoning  blood;  you  are 
accepted  of  God;  he  regards  you  with  com- 
placency ;  you  are  his  for  ever.  "  You  have 
read/'  says  Chalmers,  "  of  certain  venomous 
animals  which  expire  the  moment  they  have 
deposited  their  sting  and  its  mortal  poison  in 
the  body  of  their  victim ;  and  thus  there  en- 
sues a  double  death,  the  death  of  the  sufferer 
and  the  death  also  of  the  assailant.  And  cer- 
tain it  is  that  on  the  cross  of  our  Saviour  there 
was  just  such  a  catastrophe.  There  did  Christ' 
pour  out  his  soul  under  the  weight  and  agony 
of  the  exactions  that  were  laid  on  him  by  the 
law ;  but  there  also  did  the  law  expend  all  its 
power  as  a  judge  and  an  avenger  over  those 
who  believe  in  the  Saviour." 

Jesus  saves  from  the  dominion  of  sin.  Per- 
fection is  not  to  be  reached  on  earth.  In  the 
ripest  saint  there  are  manifold  frailties.  The 
spirit  lusteth  against  the  flesh,  and  the  flesh 
against  the  spirit.  The  atmosphere  of  earth 
is  tainted,  and  all  who  breathe  it  are  impure. 


JESUS.  39 

But  truly  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  power  of  sin  will  be  broken  within  you. 
You  will  be  no  longer  a  slave,  but  free. 
Through  the  grace  imparted  to  you,  you  will 
be  enabled  to  struggle  successfully  with  temp- 
tation, and  to  run  the  race  set  before  you. 
Not  that  you  will  ever  be  what  you  will  long 
to  be  while  you  remain  in  this  world ;  but  you 
will  be  in  a  measure  holy  now,  and  there  will 
await  you  in  a  great  and  glorious  eternity  com- 
plete and  stainless  purity.  "The  gospel,''  says 
one,  "  runs  in  two  golden  streams — pardon  of 
sin  and  purity  of  walking.'^  They  run  undi- 
videdly  all  along  in  one  channel,  yet  without 
confusion  oue  with  the  other,  as  it  is  reported 
of  some  great  rivers  that  run  together  between 
the  same  banks,  and  yet  retain  distinct  colors. 
These  streams  that  make  glad  the  city  of  God 
never  part  one  from  another  ;  if  they  be  divid- 
ed, they  cease  to  be. 

Jesus  saves  from  all  the  dread  consequences  of 
sin. 

What  a  dark  and  terrible  future  is  before 
the  sinner!  You  cannot  conceive  its  misery. 
To  be  a  castaway  from  God  and  happiness  and 


40  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

heaven,  and  to  be  banished  to  the  regions  of  a 
hopeless  hell,  such  is  the  doom  hanging  over 
the  sinner.  But  Christ  is  the  deliverer  from 
the  wrath  to  come.  Give  yourself  up  heartily 
to  him,  and  you  will  have  no  cause  to  dread 
the  realities  of  the  unseen  world ;  you  will  be 
enabled  to  contemplate  eternity  without  one 
shrinking  fear ;  you  will  walk  the  dark  valley 
with  the  peace-giving  persuasion  that  all  will 
be  well  with  you. 

What  think  you  of  Jesus?  He  is  your  sal- 
vation ;  make  him  your  desire ;  count  him  the 
chief  among  ten  thousand;  yield  yourself  un- 
reservedly to  him,  and  then  you  will  know  in 
your  own  happy  experience  the  power  and 
blessedness  of  his  name. 

How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds 

In  a  believer's  ear ! 
It  soothes  his  sorrows,  heals  his  wounds, 

And  drives  away  his  fear. 

It  makes  the  wounded  spirit  whole, 
And  calms  the  troubled  breast: 

'T  is  manna  to  the  hungry  soul, 
And  to  the  weary  rest. 


THE  REFUCxE.  41 


IX. 

THE  REFUGE. 

"  That  by  two  immutable  things,  in  which  it  was  im- 
possible for  God  to  lie,  we  might  have  a  strong  conso- 
lation, who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  lay  hold  upon  the 
hope  set  before  us."     Heb.  6:18. 

You  may  remember  something  about  the  old 
cities  of  refuge.  Three  of  them  were  on  the 
east,  and  three  of  them  were  on  the  west  of  the 
Jordan.  A  manslayer  might  flee  into  one  of 
them,  and  when  he  entered  the  gate  he  was 
safe.  If  on  examination  it  was  found  that  he 
was  the  accidental  cause  of  death,  he  remained 
secure  from  harm  till  the  death  of  the  high- 
priest.  He  was  then  permitted  to  return  to 
his  home.  You  have  here  a  figure  of  the  spir- 
itual protection  provided  in  the  gospel  for  all 
who  flee  for  refuge  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

The  cities  of  refuge  were  of  Divine  appoint- 
ment. Moses  and  Aaron  in  establishing  them 
were  merely  carrying  out  the  command  of  God. 
Thus  spake  the  Lord :  so  run  the  terms  of  their 


42  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

appointment.  And  so  with  the  gospel  refuge. 
Whence  flows  the  security  of  those  who  seek 
shelter  in  it?  It  has  been  devised  by  the  wis- 
dom, and  reared  by  the  power  of  God.  "God 
so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  be- 
gotten Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 

Again,  the  cities  of  refuge  were  'provisions 
against  imminent  peril.  A  man  was  in  danger 
of  his  life.  Death  was  at  his  heels.  He  might 
at  any  moment  be  slain.  But  once  within  the 
sacred  precincts  of  the  city,  security  enclosed 
him  in  her  arms.  And  so  with  the  gospel  ref- 
uge. The  sinner  is  in  danger.  He  is  pursued, 
as  truly  as  the  man-slayer  was.  Vengeance 
presses  on  his  heels.  The  arm  of  divine  justice, 
is  stretched  out  to  lay  him  low.  If  the  glitter- 
ing sword  fall,  how  unutterably  fearful  his  des- 
tiny. 0  God,  thou  only  knowest  what  is  in- 
volved in  the  loss  of  an  undying  soul.  But  let 
him  flee  to  the  refuge,  and  he  is  quite  secure. 
Justice,  Satan,  a  violated  law,  cannot  touch 
him.  To  all  his  adversaries  he  may  boldly 
say,  "  Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  the  charge  of 
God's  elect?" 


THE  REFUGE.  43 

The  cities  of  refuge  were  lar^^e  enough  for  all. 
We  do  not  know  the  exact  size  of  them.  They 
would  not  need  to  be  of  any  great  extent.  But 
they  had  never  to  be  closed  against  any  one 
for  want  of  room.  And  so  with  the  gospel 
refuge.  How  many  have  found  shelter  there! 
An  exceeding  great  multitude  which  no  man 
can  number,  are  already  secure.  But  yet  there 
is  room. 

The  cities  of  refuge  were  the  only  place  where 
the  man-slayer  could  be  safe.  If  found  any- 
where else  by  the  blood-avenger,  he  was  in 
danger  of  his  life.  In  the  appointed  place  of 
shelter  alone,  was  he  secure.  And  so  in  regard 
to  the  gospel  refuge.  I  have  seen  men  trying 
other  refuges.  But  these  are  all  refuges  of 
lies.  In  Christ  alone  can  the  soul  be  secure. 
Away  from  him  there  is  danger  on  every  side. 
You  cannot  move  a  step  without  peril  to  your 
soul. 

The  cities  of  refuge  were  only  available  to 
those  who  by  immediate  personal  effort  reached 
them.  No  time  was  to  be  lost.  The  man- 
slayer  was  to  hasten  off  at  once.  An  hour's 
delay  might  prove  his  death.    Exertion  had  to 


44  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

be  made.  Every  nerve  had  to  be  strained. 
The  whole  energies  had  to  be  put  forth.  Nor 
could  this  effort  be  made  by  proxy.  The  man- 
slayer  himself  had  to  hurry  away  to  the  ap- 
pointed place  of  security.  It  would  not  do  to 
devolve  the  duty  on  another.  And  so  with 
the  gospel  refuge.  How  many  are  dreaming 
that  in  regard  to  this  no  earnest  effort  is  re- 
quired. Grand  and  perilous  mistake!  It  has 
ruined  souls  without  number.  To  be  saved,  a 
man  must  put  forth  all  his  energies. 

Are  you  in  the  refuge?  If  not,  how  danger- 
ous your  state  while  you  remain  as  you  are. 
Delay  no  longer.  Away  at  once,  or  you  may 
be  lost.  "  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do, 
do  it  with  thy  might." 

Laden  with  guilt  and  full  of  fears, 

1  fly  to  thee,  my  Lord ; 
And  not  a  gHmpse  of  hope  appears, 

But  in  thy  written  word. 


A  PRESENT  SALVATION.  45 

X. 

A  PRESENT  SALVATION. 

"Oil  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  goo^:  blessed  is  the 
man  that  trusteth  in  him."     Psa.  34:8. 

Salvation  is  a  present  blessing.  It  is  not 
something  to  be  possessed  only  in  the  future, 
but  it  is  to  be  enjoyed  in  a  measure  now. 
Spiritual  and  eternal  life  commences  on  this 
side  of  the  grave,  and  not  on  the  other  ;  and 
you  may  be  a  partaker  on  earth  of  its  blessed- 
ness. 

The  great  reward,  it  is  true,  is  to  be  had  in 
eternity.  How  glorious  that  will  be!  Who 
can  tell  the  fund  of  blessings  included  in  the 
word  salvation?  There  is  deliverance  from 
guilt — the  redeemed  shall  bask  in  the  sunshine 
of  Jehovah's  smile.  There  is  freedom  from 
ignorance — the  redeemed  shall  know  even  as 
they  are  known.  There  is  complete  emancipa- 
tion from  the  bondage  of  sin — the  redeemed 
shall  be  holy  as  God  is  holy.    There  is  exemp- 


46  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

tion  from  the  ills  of  this  mortal  life — the  re- 
deemed shall  know  no  fatigue,  or  care,  or  sor- 
row. There  is  security  from  the  fear  of  death — 
the  redeemed  shall  live  for  evermore.  Most 
blessed  consummation!  The  faintest  glimpse 
of  it  may  well  add  energy  to  the  Christian's 
faith,  and  brightness  to  the  Christian's  hope. 

But  while  all  this  is  true,  salvation  is  to  be 
had  in  a  measure  now.  A  sense  of  pardon, 
peace,  holiness,  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  com- 
munion with  God — what  blessings  greater  and 
more  delightful  than  these?  They  require  in- 
deed to  be  tasted,  in  order  to  be  understood. 
The  worldling  cannot  appreciate  them  ;  but  let 
the  believer  say  for  what  he  would  give  them 
up.  He  is  forgiven,  justified,  saved.  Oh  the 
■unutterable  blessedness  of  such  a  state!  A 
pious  minister  in  Scotland,  being  asked  by  a 
friend  during  his  last  illness  whether  he  thought 
himself  dying,  answered,  "Really,  friend,  I 
care  not  whether  I  am  or  not;  if  I  die  I  shall 
be  with  God,  and  if  I  live  God  will  be  with 
me." 

Now  this  present  salvation  is  withm  your 
reach.    Why  should  you  not  have  it  now?   You 


A  PRESENT  SALVATION.  47 

may  stretch  forth  your  hand  and  make  it  yours. 
Some  think  it  presumptuous  to  expect  this; 
they  suppose  they  must  pray  much  and  do  much 
before  they  enter  on  the  divine  life  ;  a  long 
and  painful  process  of  self-crucifixion,  they  fan- 
cy, must  be  passed  through  ere  forgiveness  can 
be  theirs.  But  it  is  not  so:  you  have  but  to 
look  to  the  cross  and  rest  with  lively  faith  on 
Him  who  died  on  it,  and  acceptance  with  God 
is  secured.  Not  that  it  is  easy  to  do  this. 
Pride  stands  iu  the  way;  self-righteousness 
stands  in  the  way ;  a  natural  alienation  of 
heart  from  God  stands  in  the  way.  But  if, 
with  the  help  of  divine  grace,  you  repent  of 
sin  and  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  you 
are  saved  this  very  day.  It  is  true  that  this 
is  but  to  enter  on  the  divine  life.  Many  a  day 
of  battling  with  temptation  and  sin  Avill  lie 
before  you,  if  you  be  spared,  in  this  world. 
But  still,  once  united  by  true  and  living  faith 
to  Christ,  you  will  never  be  cast  off.  You 
will  be  enabled  by  help  from  above  to  hold  on 
your  way,  and  in  maintaining  the  Christian 
life  you  will  enjoy  the  blessedness  of  a  present 
forgiveness,  and  you  will  be  kept  unto  the  sal- 


48  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

yation,  the  full  salvation  to  be  revealed  at  the 
last  time.  Pardon  cannot  be  revoked.  Once 
justified,  you  are  justified  for  ever.  No  power 
can  pluck  the  forgiven  sinner  out  of  the  Sav- 
iour's hands. 

Is  present  salvation  yours?  This  I  knovr, 
if  you  are  without  Christ  you  have  to  blame 
yourself.  God  is  willing  to  give  you  now  an 
interest  in  the  Redeemer's  work.  Jesus  is 
offering  you  now  pardon,  peace,  eternal  life. 
The  Holy  Spirit,  with  his  still  small  voice,  is 
calling  you  now  to  accept  the  Saviour's  invita- 
tion, and  yield  to  the  Saviour's  claims. 

Oh  may  my  heart,  by  grace  renewed, 

Be  my  Redeemer's  throne ; 
And  be  my  stubborn  will  subdued, 

His  government  to  own. 


COME.  49 


XI. 

COME, 


"Him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 
John  6:37. 

You  are  invited  to  go  to  Christ.  How  are 
3' ou  to  go  ?  Not  literally ;  that  cannot  be. 
Jesus  has  gone  away ;  he  is  on  the  central 
throne  of  the  universe.  The  affairs  of  all 
worlds  are  under  his  governance.  And  yet 
you  may  go  to  him — go  to  him  as  really  as  if 
you  could  touch  his  person  and  live  in  his  visi- 
ble presence. 

He  is  your  great  High-priest:  as  such  he 
once  offered  himself  up  for  sins.  He  stood  as 
your  surety  in  the  most  momentous  of  all  posi- 
tions. He  suffered,  the  just  for  the  unjust.  He 
bore  your  griefs,  and  carried  your  sorrows. 
The  Lord  laid  on  him  your  iniquities.  If  you 
go  to  him,  receive  him^  as  your  Saviour,  and 
put  your  trust  in  him,  he  will  in  no  wise  cast 
you  out. 

He  is  infinitely  able  to  save.     Man  is  powcr- 

I'res.  Sav.  .± 


60  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

less  to  save  ;  angels  arc  powerless  to  save ;  but 
nothing  is  impossible  to  Him.  You  may  be 
deeply  sunk  in  sin,  but  he  can  raise  you  up 
from  the  horrible  pit  and  the  miry  clay.  You 
may  be  stained  with  sins  of  crimson  dye,  but 
he  can  purge  you  and  make  you  whiter  than 
the  snow.  A  multitude  which  no  man  can 
number  have  already  been  washed  in  his  pre- 
cious blood,  but  the  cleansing  virtue  of  that 
blood  is  as  great  now  as  ever. 

And  he  is  infinitely  kind.  You  may  be  a  sin- 
ner of  the  greatest  enormity;  you  may  have 
had  godly  parents;  your  teachers  may  have 
been  earnestly  religious ;  you  may  have  waited 
on  a  faithful  and  impressive  ministry ;  but  you 
may  have  drowned  convictions  in  worldliness 
and  sin.  You  may  have  spent  many  a  long 
year  in  infidelity  and  vice  ;  you  may  now  stand 
on  the  shore  of  a  dark  eternity,  worn  out  with 
sin;  but  you  need  not  despair.  The  mercy  of 
the  Lord  reacheth  unto  the  clouds.  Christ  is 
still  willing  to  receive  you.  Beyond  all  know- 
ledge is  his  love.  It  is  an  ocean  which  no  line 
can  fathom  and  no  shore  can  bound.  Sinners 
as  great  as  you  he  has  saved,  and  his  mercy 


COME.  51 

endureth  for  ever.  Tell  me  not  that  your  in- 
iquities are  too  black  to  be  forgiven.  The 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin. 

An  excellent  and  pious  man,  vrhen  on  his 
death-bed,  was  for  some  time  under  considera- 
ble darkness  respecting  his  spiritual  state,  and 
said  to  a  friend,  "  For  all  that  I  have  preached 
or  written,  there  is  but  one  scripture  I  can 
remember  or  dare  grip  to  ;  tell  me  if  I  dare  lay 
the  weight  of  my  salvation  upon  it:  'Him  that 
cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.' ''  The 
friend  replied,  "  You  may  depend  upon  it, 
though  you  had  a  thousand  salvations  at  haz- 
ard." It  was  a  most  true  and  wise  reply.  A 
man  may  make  a  promise,  and  may  change  his 
mind  and  be  unwilling  to  perform  it.  Not  so 
Christ.  He  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and 
for  ever.  A  man  may  make  a  promise,  and  be 
afterwards  placed  in  circumstances  in  which 
he  is  unable  to  fulfil  it.  Not  so  Christ.  All 
power  in  heaven  and  in  earth  is  his.  A  man 
may  make  a  promise,  and  may  be  indiffer- 
ent whether  it  be  realized  or  not.  Not  so 
Christ.  He  longs  with  unchanging  love  for 
your  eternal  weal.     You  may  then  depend  on 


52  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

his  word,  though  you  liad  a  thousand  salvations 
at  hazard. 

Do  not  distrust  the  Saviour's  promise.  Take 
him  at  his  word.  You  may  reiy  on  him  with 
assured  confidence.  "  This  man  receiveth  sin- 
ners." You  may  be  deeply  unworthy;  you 
may  have  wandered  from  him  ever  so  far ;  you 
may  have  brought  discredit  by  many  a  year  of 
worldliness  and  sin  on  the  name  of  Christian ; 
but  Jesus  is  waiting  to  be  gracious.  He  in- 
vites, encourages,  beseeches  you  to  come  to 
him ;  and  you  may  be  sure  that  if  you  do  so 
he  will  prove  true  to  his  promise,  and  never 
cast  you  out. 

Just  as  I  am,  thou  wilt  receive ; 
Wilt  welcome,  pardon,  cleanse,  relieve  : 
Because  thy  promise  I  believe, 
0  Lamb  of  God,  I  come ! 


NOW.  63 

XII. 

NOW. 

"Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time;  behold,  now  is  the 
day  of  salvation."     2  Cor.  6:2. 

Make  sure  of  a  saving  interest  in  Christ 
now.  Why  delay?  Procrastination  is  dan- 
gerous. In  a  matter  which  concerns  you  so 
much,  it  is  unutterable  folly  to  put  oJBf.  Surely 
it  is  the  part  of  a  wise  man  to  have  the  grand 
concerns  of  his  eternity  settled  at  once. 

Delay  has  a  hardening  tendency.  Compara- 
tively few  are  converted  when  old.  The  truth 
does  not  easily  penetrate  the  thick  coating  of 
worldliness  wherewith  the  souls  of  such  are 
encrusted.  It  is  when  the  heart  is  soft  and 
tender  that  impressions  are  generally  made  on 
it.  We  must  not  limit  the  grace  of  God  ;  but 
every  one  knows  that  that  grace  commonly 
acts  upon  the  young  and  unhardened  mind. 

Through  delay  God  may  withdraw  his  Spirit. 
That  Spirit  may  have  been  long  striving  with 


54  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

ycu.  For  years  you  may  have  felt  its  draw- 
ings. It  may  have  been  moving  and  urging 
you  to  turn  unto  the  Lord.  You  may  some- 
times have  been  convinced  of  the  vast  impor- 
tance of  the  soul  and  eternity ;  you  may  have 
resolved  and  reresolved  to  give  yourself  up  to 
a  life  of  decided  godliness ;  you  may  have  gone 
on  your  knees  and  vowed  to  be  the  Lord's. 
All  this  has  been  through  the  workings  of  the 
Spirit  within  you.  But  you  have  resisted  the 
Spirit.  Instead  of  cherishing  his  influences, 
jou  have  done  your  best  to  quench  them:  and 
you  are  still  unsaved.  What  if  God  should 
say,  "He  is  joined  to  idols;  let  him  alone!" 
How  disastrous  would  be  the  issue  in  such  a 
case!  The  soul  would  be  left  in  a  state  of 
hopeless  impenitence  and  unbelief. 

By  delay  you  are  losing  the  purest  happiness. 
Perhaps  you  count  decided  religion  a  gloomy 
thing.  You  fancy  that  it  is  associated  with 
all  that  is  severe  and  repulsive;  you  suppose 
that  it  calls  for  the  giving  up  of  every  thing 
that  conduces  to  happiness ;  but  tliis  is  a  great 
mistake.  Never  will  you  know  what  true 
peace  is  till  you  cordially  embrace  the  Saviour. 


NOW.  65 

You  feel  a  want,  a  deep,  constant  want,  in 
your  present  condition ;  and  what  can  fill  that 
void  but  Jesus  Christ  ?  Ask  those  who  have 
heartily  given  themselves  to  Christ,  what  they 
think  of  his  service.  With  one  voice  will  they 
reply,  that  they  deem  such  service  perfect  free- 
dom. Matthew  Henry,  a  little  before  his  death, 
said  to  a  friend,  "  You  have  been  used  to  take 
notice  of  the  sayings  of  dying  men;  this  is 
mine:  that  a  life  spent  in  the  service  of  God 
and  communion  with  him,  is  the  most  comfort- 
able and  happy  life  that  any  one  can  live  in 
this  world." 

By  delay  you  are  wissing  the  most  favorable 
opportunities  of  being  saved.  In  times  of  awa- 
kening, what  loud  calls  are  given  to  turn  to 
the  Lord.  Solemn  warnings  and  precious  in- 
vitations without  number  are  then  addressed 
to  you.  Others  around  are  being  converted. 
There  is  a  great  concern  about  religion  among 
all  classes  of  society.  Never  was  there  so  much, 
anxiety  about  the  soul  and  eternity.  Are  you 
unmoved  and  unstirred  by  this?  If  so,  then 
the  probability  is,  you  will  never  be  moved 
and  stirred  at  all.      It  looks  as  if  you  were 


50  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

given  over  to  judicial  blindness  of  mind  and 
hardness  of  heart. 

Death  may  at  any  moment  cut  you  down, 
and  the  delay  will  prove  your  ruin.  Can  you 
count  on  an  hour  more  being  given  you  ?  To- 
morrow you  may  be  in  eternity,  where  no  mes- 
sage of  mercy  is  ever  heard.  Some,  says  one, 
never  begin  to  pray  till  God  lias  ceased  to 
hear.  Are  you  keeping  away  from  Christ? 
Are  you  still  unpardoned?  Are  you  not  yet 
prepared  to  meet  your  God  ?  Along  the  street 
By-and-by,  one  gets  to  the  house  of  Never.  It 
has  been  so  with  multitudes.  How  terrible 
the  thought.     It  may  be  so  with  you. 

Hasten,  sinner,  to  be  wise, 

Stay  not  for  the  morrow's  sim; 

Wisdom  warns  you  from  the  skies, 
All  the  paths  of  death  to  shun. 

Hasten  mercy  to  implore ; 

Stay  not  for  to-morrow's  sun ; 
Lest  thy  season  should  be  o'er 

Ere  to-morrow  is  begun. 


BUT—  5t 

XIII. 

BUT  — 
*'  Lord,  I  will  follow  tliee ;  but—' '     Luke  9 :  61. 

Do  you  see  the  importance  of  deciding  for 
Christ?  Are  you  convinced  tliat  you  ought 
to  give  yourself  up  to  his  service?  Is  the 
feeling  strong  within  you  that  you  should  en- 
ter on  an  earnestly  religious  life  ?  What  then 
hinders  you?  Surely  it  must  be  something 
very  serious.  Christ  demands  an  entire  self- 
surrender;  any  thing  else  he  will  not  accept. 
But  you  are  hesitating ;  and  why  ? 

It  may  be  from  the  engrossment  and  pressure 
of  icorldly  cares.  Your  mind  and  heart  are 
full ;  you  are  busy  with  earthly  pursuits ;  you 
live  in  a  scene  of  bustle  and  hurry ;  every  hour 
has  its  work;  you  fancy  no  time  can  be  spared 
for  Christ:  but  how  vain  a  notion.  Earnest 
religion  does  not  require  you  to  neglect  your 
business — to  be  uninterested  in  worldly  pur- 
suits— to  lead  a  dull  hermit's  life.      On  the 


58  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

contrary,  it  calls  you  to  enter  heartily  into  all 
the  ordinary  duties  of  life.  But  while  in  the 
world,  the  Christian  is  not  to  be  of  the  world. 
And  to  think  of  a  man  allowing  himself  to  be 
taken  up  with  the  interests  of  time  to  the  neg- 
lect of  the  grand  concerns  of  eternity  !  What 
shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  gain  the  whole  world 
and  lose  his  own  soul  ? 

It  may  be  you  shrink  from  the  self-denial  of 
the  Christian  life.  No  doubt  the  gate  is  wide 
enough  to  admit  any  sinner,  but  it  is  too  nar- 
row for  the  admission  of  any  sin.  If  you  would 
be  decided,  you  must  at  once  abandon  every 
known  evil  way,  and  you  must  seek  to  have 
your  whole  life  conformed  to  the  will  of  God. 
But  should  you  shrink  from  such  a  life  as  this  ? 
No  doubt  it  is  hard  to  maintain  it ;  it  is  trying 
often  to  flesh  and  blood  ;  it  needs  a  daily  spirit 
of  self-crucifixion.  But  the  Redeemer's  grace 
is  within  the  believer's  reach.  With  daily  sup- 
plies of  it,  Christ's  yoke  is  easy  and  his  burden 
light.  And  how  deep  and  pure  the  inward 
satisfaction  a  true  Christian  life  brings  along 
with  it!  It  has  joys  of  which  the  worldling 
knows  nothing.     Godliness  is  great  gain  even 


BUT—  59 

now.  "Are  yon  happy?"  was  the  question 
put  one  day  to  a  beggar-boy ;  to  which  he  re- 
plied at  once,  "I  have  God  for  my  Father;  I 
have  Christ  for  my  Kedeeuier ;  I  have  heaven 
for  my  inheritance.     I  am  happy." 

It  may  be  you  fear  C/nHst  will  not  accept  you. 
You  have  sinned  grievously ;  you  have  broken 
many  a  vow  and  left  unfulfilled  many  a  resolu- 
tion; you  are  verily  guilty  before  God.  But 
Christ  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sin- 
ners to  repentance.  "  There  are  two  things," 
said  John  Newton,  "I  try  never  to  forget: 
first,  that  I  am  a  great  sinner;  secondly,  that 
Jesus  is  a  great  Saviour." 

It  may  be  you  suppose  you  could  never  lead 
an  earliest  religious  life.  You  are  very  weak; 
you  are  so  ready  to  give  way  to  temptation ; 
you  fall  day  by  day  into  acts  of  sin.  But  has 
not  God  promised  to  give  us  help  in  our  every 
time  of  need,  if  we  humbly,  earnestly,  and  per- 
severiugly  seek  it  ?  "  He  giveth  power  to  the 
faint,  and  to  them  that  have  no  might  he  in- 
creaseth  strength." 

It  may  be  you  do  not  dec'ide  from  sheer  pro- 
crastination.    Oh  this  delay,  how  many  souls  it 


60  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

has  ruined!  They  liave  thought;  they  have 
intended;  they  have  determined;  but  they 
have  put  off.  Death  has  come  at  an  unexioect- 
ed  hour,  and  they  are  lost. 

Let  there  be  no  hut.  Let  there  be  a  prompt 
and  immediate  decision.  Let  this  be  the  time 
of  your  entering  into  a  covenant  with  God — a 
covenant  that  shall  never  be  forgotten.  Your 
present  convictions  are  of  the  weightiest  mo- 
ment. They  may  pass  away,  and  leave  you  as 
unconcerned  about  salvation  as  ever  you  were 
before.  Should  it  be  so,  and  should  you  never 
be  awakened  again,  how  fearful  to  think  in 
eternity  on  the  time  when  you  were  almost  con- 
verted and  saved. 

Great  God,  on  what  a  slender  thread 

Hang  everlasting  things ! 
Th'  eternal  state  of  all  the  dead 

Upon  life's  feeble  strings. 


A  FULL  SURRENDER.  61 

XIV. 

A  FULL  SURRENDER. 

''My  son,  give  me  thy  heart."     Prov.  23:26. 

Make  a  full  surrender ;  keep  back  nothing ; 
give  yourself  up  wholly  to  the  Lord.  He  will 
not  be  satisfied  with  any  thing  short  of  your 
entire  being.  All  that  you  are  and  all  that 
you  have  are  his ;  and  if  you  do  as  he  requires, 
you  will  devote  yourself  heartily  to  him. 

A  full  surrender  is  the  only  safe  course. 
There  can  be  no  security  without  it.  An  un- 
willingness to  abandon  all  for  Christ,  betrays 
a  lingering  love  of  self  and  the  world.  With 
half-hearted ness  God  cannot  be  pleased.  Sa- 
tan would  persuade  you  that  it  is  enough.  He 
has  not  been  able  to  prevent  your  being  anx- 
ious. In  spite  of  all  his  endeavors  to  keep 
you  asleep,  you  have  waked  to  a  sense  of  your 
guilt  and  danger;  you  have  become  alive  to 
tlie  vast  importance  of  the  soul  and  eternity. 
But  he  would  urge  you  to  a  partial  sacrifice. 
He  would  persuade  you  that  you  may  enjoy 


62  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

the  world  as  you  did  before,  and  be  religious 
too.  He  would  convince  you  that  there  is  no 
necessity  of  taking  any  decided  step,  and  be- 
ing different  from  what  you  were.  But  all 
this  is  hollow  sophistry.  Be  on  your  guard 
against  his  devices ;  heed  not  his  suggestions. 
See  how  God  would  have  you  act.  Halting 
between  two  opinions  is  emphatically  con- 
demned. Against  those  who  are  neither  cold 
nor  hot  a  terrible  judgment  is  threatened. 
And  Jesus  Christ  says,  "He  that  is  not  with 
me  is  against  me;  and  he  that  gathereth  not 
with  me  scattereth  abroad." 

A  full  surrender  is  the  only  happy  course. 
Would  you  have  solid  peace?  Would  you  know 
what  true  spiritual  joy  is?  Would  you  possess 
assurance  of  the  divine  favor  and  a  good  firm 
hope  of  eternal  life  ?  There  must  be  decision. 
An  attempted  neutrality  is  a  foe  to  all  happi- 
ness. Never  can  you  enjoy  religion  without  an 
entire  and  thorough  giving  up  of  yourself  to 
God.  In  an  undecided  life  there  is  much  to 
dim  the  spiritual  vision,  and  to  disturb  the 
spiritual  peace.  A  single  evil  desire  indulged 
is  sufficient  to  rob  you  of  happiness. 


A  FULL  SUERENDER.  63 

A  full  surrender  is  the  only  course  conducive 
to  holiness.  Do  you  long  to  walk  with  God  ? 
Do  you  long  to  grow  in  grace  ?  Do  you  long 
to  be  such  as  you  6ught  to  be?  Then  give 
yourself  up  wholly  to  Christ.  Open  your  whole 
heart  to  the  influx  of  heaven's  aifections.  Seek 
to  live  wholly  under  the  presiding  authority  of 
heaven's  principles.  Let  it  be  your  honest  en- 
deavor to  breathe  wholly  the  spirit  of  heaven's 
Lord.  Then  you  cannot  fail  to  advance ;  you 
will  go  from  strength  to  strength;  you  will 
appear  at  length  before  God  in  Zion. 

A  full  surrender  is  needed  to  commend  the 
religion  of  Christ  to  the  wo^id.  Alas,  for  the 
numbers  of  professing  disciples  who  are  nei- 
ther one  thing  nor  another.  They  are  cautious, 
selfish,  worldly.  They  don't  commit  them- 
selves. They  hope  they  do  no  harm,  but  they 
certainly  do  no  good.  They  are  afraid  to  con- 
fess Christ,  and  they  are  afraid  to  deny  him. 
They  are  idle,  useless,  undecided.  How  is  the 
world  to  be  impressed  by  such  men  as  these  ? 
They  put  forth  no  effort  for  the  good  of  their 
fellow-men.  But  make  a  full  surrender  to 
Christ,  and  yours  will  be  no  such  life.     You 


64  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

will  be  one  with  him ;  you  will  walk  with  him  ; 
you  will  gather  with  him.  Something  within 
you  will  prompt  and  stir  to  holy  toils  for  Christ, 
and  men  will  see  in  you  th*e  beauty  of  holiness. 
As  living  epistles  of  Christ  you  will  be  seen 
and  read  of  all  men. 

Do  you  hesitate  to  make  a  full  surrender? 
Think  well  indeed  on  what  you  are  about  to 
do.  Count  the  cost.  Consider  the  nature  and 
character  and  conditions  of  the  service  of 
Christ.  Do  this,  and  then  deliberately  and 
solemnly  decide.  Let  this  be  your  resolve  on 
your  knees  at  the  throne  of  grace: 

I  take  God  as  my  Father ; 

I  take  Christ  as  my  only  Saviour ; 

I  take  the  Holy  Ghost  as  my  Sanctifier  and 
Guide. 

All  my  being  I  give  up  to  the  Three-One 
God. 

Just  as  I  am — thy  love  unknown 

Has  broken  every  barrier  down ; 

Now  to  be  thine,  yea,  thine  alone, 

0  Lamb  of  God,  I  come. 


BORN  AGAIN.  65 


XV. 

BORN  AGAIN. 

*'  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Verily,  verily,  I 
say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot 
see  the  kingdom  of  God."    John  3 : 3. 

Are  you  born  again  ?  My  question  is  a  most 
solemn  one.  Think  earnestly  on  it;  it  con- 
cerns your  eternal  interests.  He  that  is  born 
once  only,  as  has  been  said,  dies  twice ;  but  he 
tliat  is  born  twice,  dies  only  once,  for  over  him 
the  second  death  hath  no  power. 

In  those  who  are  born  again  there  takes 
place  a  great,  inward,  divinely  wrought  change. 
It  is  a  g7'eat  change.  The  new-born  soul  passes 
from  death  to  life.  It  has  views,  feelings,  de- 
sires, hopes,  fears,  joys,  sorrows,  which  it  had 
not  before ;  its  whole  nature  is  renewed.  Again, 
it  is  an  inward  change.  The  heart  loves  what 
it  did  not  love  before,  hates  what  it  did  not 
hate  before,  desires  what  it  did  not  desire  be- 
fore.     Once  more,   it  is    a   divinely  wrought 


66  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

change.  No  liuman  power  can  work  it ;  ser- 
mons cannot  work  it ;  Bible  reading  and  pray- 
ers cannot  work  it;  sacraments  cannot  work 
it.  You  may  try  hard  to  work  it  in  yourself 
or  in  others;  but  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God, 
he  and  he  alone  can  produce  this  saving 
change. 

A  man  must  he  horn  again,  or  he  lost.  The 
statement  is  no  rash  one;  I  can  make  it  good. 
The  authority  of  Scripture  is  my  warrant  for 
it.  You  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God ; 
you  believe  that  he  cannot  lie ;  you  believe  that 
heaven  and  earth  may  pass  away,  but  that  his 
word  will  never  pass  away.  Well,  what  saith 
he  ?  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  Except 
a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  king- 
dom of  God."  Be  sure,  then,  that  the  gate  of 
heaven  will  be  for  ever  barred  against  the  un- 
regenerate. 

Certain  marks  distinguish  those  who  are  horn 
again.  They  hate  sin;  they  feel  it  to  be  a  bur- 
den ;  they  long  to  be  wholly  free  from  it.  They 
hahitually  seek  after  holiness;  they  desire  to  be 
clothed  with  it;  they  will  never  be  satisfied 
without  it.     They  are  spiritually  minded.     The 


BORN  AGAIN.  67 

ordinary  cares  and  business  of  life  necessarily 
occupy  much  of  their  attention,  but  their  treas- 
ure is  in  heaven  and  their  heart  is  also  there. 
They  seek  to  act  up  to  their  profession.  The  du- 
ties of  the  sphere  in  which  Providence  has 
placed  them  they  endeavor  faithfully  to  per- 
form. They  desire  to  be  diligent  in  business, 
fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord.  They  are 
making  progress  in  the  divine  life.  This  prog- 
ress may  not  always  be  clear  and  steady,  but 
it  is  true  and  real.  Such  are  a  few  of  the 
marks  which  distinguish  those  who  are  born 
again.  They  do  not  appear  with  equal  clear- 
ness in  all  the  children  of  God.  But  if  a 
man  cannot  discover  any  signs  of  them  in  his 
heart  and  life,  he  has  good  grounds  for  fearing 
that  the  great  change  has  not  yet  taken  place 
in  him. 

How  is  it  with  your  soul  ?  Many  are  dream- 
ing that  if  they  be  guilty  of  no  gross  and  open 
sins ;  if  they  be  respectable  members  of  soci- 
ety ;  if  they  make  a  fair  profession,  all  is  sure 
to  be  well  with  them  in  the  future.  But  this  is 
a  grand  delusion;  for  the  Book,  in  the  plainest 
terms,  declares  that  a  man  must  be  born  again. 


68  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

or  be  lost.  Are  you  born  again  ?  If  so,  there 
is  but  a  breath  between  you  and  heaven ;  if  not 
so,  there  is  but  a  breath  between  you  and  hell. 
And  let  no  one  say.  We  must  wait  God's  time. 
God's  time  is  now.  Apply  at  once  for  his  re- 
generating grace,  and  it  will  not  be  refused. 

The  words  which  an  old  minister  had  graven 
on  his  tombstone  are  faithful  and  true  :  "  Re- 
member, no  salvation  without  a  new  birth. 
Surely  they  that  are  not  born  again  shall  one 
day  wish  they  had  never  been  born  at  all." 

Let  songs  of  praises  fill  the  sky: 

Christ,  our  ascended  Lord, 
Sends  down  his  Spirit  from  on  high, 

Accordina:  to  his  word. 


A  CHRISTIAN.  69 


XVI. 

A  CHRISTIAN. 


"  That  worthy  name  by  the  which  ye  are  called." 
James  2:7. 

If  you  are  born  again,  and  have  made  a  full 
surrender  of  yourself  to  Jesus,  you  are  a  Chris- 
tian. Holy  and  honorable  name.  No  title  is 
more  to  be  prized.  Men  covet  earthly  distinc- 
tions. What  labors  and  sacrifices  they  under- 
go to  secure  them  I  But  here  is  a  name  nobler 
far.     Who  are  entitled  to  bear  it  ? 

A  Christian  is  one  who  believes  in  the  Bimnity 
of  Christ.  Jesus  was  indeed  a  man.  He  had 
a  nature  like  ours.  He  was  often  hungry  and 
thirsty  and  weary.  He  was  born  ;  he  suffered  ; 
he  died.  But  though  finite,  he  was  also  infi- 
nite; though  very  man,  he  was  also  very  God. 
Divine  names  are  given  him ;  divine  attributes 
are  ascribed  to  him;  divine  works  were  per- 
formed by  him ;  divine  worship  is  paid  to  him ; 
divine  honors  clothe  him.  He  was  Emmanuel, 
God  with  us. 


to  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

A  Christian  is  one  who  rests  on  the  atonement 
of  Christ  for  acceptance  witli  God.  Some  look 
upon  Christ  as  a  teacher ;  and  no  doubt  he  was 
a  teacher — the  greatest  teacher  the  world  ever 
saw.  Others  look  upon  Christ  as  a  martyr; 
and  no  doubt  he  was  a  martyr,  for  he  sealed 
his  testimony  with  his  blood.  Others  look 
upon  Christ  as  an  example;  and  no  doubt  he 
was  a  pattern — the  great  model  man.  But 
above  all  this,  Christ  was  a  great  atoning  sac- 
rifice. You  know  from  experience  the  blessed- 
ness of  this  truth ;  for  if  a  real  Christian,  you 
are  prepared  to  make  it  as  your  confession : 

I  the  chief  of  smners  am, 
But  Jesus  died  for  me. 

A  Christian  is  one  who  loves  Christ  and  longs  to 
he  like  him.  There  are  some  who  need  only  to 
be  known  to  be  loved.  How  preeminently  is 
this  the  case  with  Jesus  Christ.  To  them  who 
believe  in  him  he  is  precious ;  and  loving  his 
Lord,  the  Christian  longs  to  resemble  him. 
What  was  his  character  when  he  was  upon 
earth?  He  was  pure,  spotless,  perfect;  and 
what  believer  does  not  desire  to  be  so  too  ? 
A  Christian  confesses  Christ.     Many  act  as 


A  CHRISTIAN.  Tl 

if  they  were  ashamed  of  him ;  they  shrink  from 
showing  themselves  his  decided  followers; 
they  cannot  bear  the  idea  of  being  different 
from  others ;  they  would  rather  endure  any 
thing  than  be  counted  singular,  or  be  called 
hypocrites  by  an  unthinking  world ;  they  have 
not  the  courage  to  stand  up  for  Christ.  By 
many  an  act  of  inconsistency  and  lukewarm- 
ness  they  bring  discredit  on  the  name  they 
bear.  Let  it  not  be  so  with  you.  Beware  of 
allowing  any  one  for  a  moment  to  imagine  that 
you  are  ashamed  of  Christ : 

Ashamed  of  Jesus,  that  dear  Friend 
On  whom  my  hopes  of  heaven  depend ! 
No ;  when  I  blush  be  this  my  shame, 
That  I  no  more  revere  his  name. 

A  Christian  waits  and  longs  for  Chrisfs  unveiled 
presence  in  glory.  This  earth  is  the  worldling's 
all.  His  heart  is  set  on  its  business  and  pleas- 
ures and  friendships.  Give  him  these,  and  he 
asks  nothing  more.  But  how  different  with  a 
living  Christian!  He  regards  this  world  as 
but  a  lodging-house — a  tent  that  is  to  be  taken 
down.  Beyond  the  stars  is  his  spirit's  true 
home ;  and  he  never  expects  to  be  fully  happy 


12  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

till  he  gets  there.  And  what,  to  him,  is  the 
grand  anticipated  charm  of  heaven  ?  the  un- 
veiled presence  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Walk  worthy  of  your  high  calling.  Live 
near  to  Christ.  Let  it  be  your  most  earnest 
desire  to  get  closer  and  closer  to  him ;  to  enter 
more  and  more  into  his  heart;  and  to  be  filled 
more  and  more  with  his  spirit.  Be  ever  long- 
ing after  higher  attainments  in  holiness.  Seek 
to  have  your  path  like  the  shining  light,  that 
shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day. 

Let  Christ,  to  whom  we  now  belong, 
His  sovereign  right  assert ; 

To  him  we  owe  the  grateful  song, 
To  him  the  loving  heart. 

He  jnstly  claims  ns  for  his  own, 
Who  bought  ns  with  a  pi'ice ; 

The  Christian  lives  to  Christ  alone, 
To  Christ  alone  he  dies. 


SECRET  THINGS.  13 


XVII. 

SECRET  THINGS. 

"  The  secret  things  belong  unto  the  Lord  our  God ; 
but  those  things  which  are  revealed  belong  unto  us  and 
to  our  children  for  ever,  that  we  may  do  all  the  words 
of  this  laAV."     Deut.  29 :  29. 

You  are  surrounded  with  mysteries  in  the 
world.  You  meet  with  them  above  you,  around 
you,  within  you.  In  every  blade  of  grass,  in 
every  insect  that  flutters  in  the  sunbeam,  in  every 
beating  heart,  there  is  much  you  cannot  under- 
stand. Knowledge  has  indeed  made  mighty 
progress ;  and  yet  there  are  multitudes  of  se- 
cret things  on  all  sides  of  us  which  nature  has 
not  whispered  in  the  ear  of  her  most  ardent 
votaries.  And  so  in  providence  there  are 
many  mysteries.  We  cannot  see  at  present 
the  whys  and  wherefores  of  God's  dealings 
with  men.  Clouds  and  darkness  are  round 
about  him.  In  the  Bible  too  there  are  myste- 
ries which  the  mind  of  man  cannot  grasp.     Be 


'74  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

not  disquieted  and  perplexed  with  these;  a 
day  of  revelation  will  come. 

It  was  to  he  expected  that  there  would  be  hid- 
den things  in  the  Bible.  It  is  the  book  of  God. 
And  who  is  he  ?  A  Being  altogether  different 
from  us — infinite,  unsearchable,  eternal.  Was  it 
not  to  be  looked  for,  then,  that  in  a  communica- 
tion from  him  there  would  be  some  things  dark 
and  hard  to  be  understood  ?  A  child  is  not  able 
to  comprehend  all  that  is  said  to  it  by  its  par- 
ent ;  surely  then  it  is  not  strange  that  we  in  our 
present  condition — the  very  infancy  of  our 
being — should  not  be  able  fully  to  comprehend 
the  revelation  of  the  Infinite.  Accordingly 
there  are  domains  of  truth  which  are  accessible 
only  to  God.  We  are  permitted  to  enter  the 
antechamber ;  but  we  are  not  allowed  to  pene- 
trate the  recesses  of  the  sanctury.  Till  we 
pass  within  the  veil,  and  have  our  powers  of 
vision  strengthened,  we  must  be  content  to 
wait. 

The  mysteries  of  revelation  are  useful.  They 
teach  us  a  lesson  of  faith.  The  child  takes 
much  in  trust  from  his  father;  and  so  God 
would  have  us  repose  thorough  confidence  in 


SECRET  THINGS.  *75 

him,  and  believe  what  we  cannot  now  under- 
stand or  explain.  They  teach  us  also  a  lesson 
of  patience.  All  will  be  cleared  up  at  length. 
Light  will  be  shed  on  the  dark  things  of  God. 
In  eternity  more  may  be  learned  in  an  hour 
than  can  be  learned  in  a  whole  lifetime  now. 
We  should  quietly  wait  till  then.  They  teach 
us,  moreover,  a  lesson  of  hope.  A  bright  and 
blessed  day  is  coming.  Soon  will  the  morning 
break  and  the  shadows  flee  away,  and  then 
what  discoveries  will  be  made !  Let  the  heart 
be  stirred  by  the  prospect.  We  shall  know 
even  as  we  are  known. 

While  there  are  mysteries  in  the  Bible,  all 
that  is  necessary  for  us  to  know  has  been  plainly 
revealed.  It  tells  us  plainly  of  the  evil  of  sin. 
It  tells  us  plainly  of  a  divinely  appointed  and 
divinely  accomplished  Saviour.  It  tells  us 
plainly  of  the  necessity  of  repentance,  faith, 
and  holiness.  It  tells  us  plainly  of  the  vast 
importance  of  giving  immediate  heed  to  the 
things  which  belong  to  our  peace.  It  tells  us 
plainly  of  an  everlasting  heaven  and  an  ever- 
lasting hell,  and  how  we  may  secure  the  one 
and  escape  the  other. 


16  A  PEESENT  SAVIOUE. 

These  and  such  like  truths  are  clearly  re- 
vealed. There  is  no  mystery  about  them.  They 
are  written  as  with  a  sunbeam  on  the  page  of 
Scripture ;  and  it  is  the  dictate  of  true  wisdom 
not  to  suffer  what  we  know  to  be  disturbed  by 
what  we  know  not. 

Attend  to  the  things  which  belong  to  you. 
Act  from  day  to  day  simple  faith  in  Christ. 
Set  yourself  earnestly  to  the  performance  of 
all  plainly  commanded  duty.  Be  not  harassed 
by  the  dark  truths  of  revelation,  but  seek  to 
conquer  all  known  truth.  Remember  that  you 
are  but  in  the  first  stage  of  your  existence,  and 
look  forward  hopefully  to  a  time  when,  endow- 
ed with  loftier  powers  than  those  you  now  pos- 
sess, you  will  be  privileged  to  make  discoveries 
which  it  has  not  entered  into  the  heart  of  man 
to  conceive. 

Such  are  the  hopes  that  cheer  the  saint ; 

These  hopes  their  God  hath  given. 
His  Spirit  is  the  earnest  now, 

And  seals  their  souls  for  heaven. 


THE  RACE.  It 


XVIII. 

THE  RACE. 
"So  run,  that  ye  may  obtain."     1  Cor.  9:24. 

You  have  a  race  to  rim.  You  have  to  put 
forth  all  your  energies.  Only  thus  can  you 
reach  the  goal,  and  win  the  immortal  prize. 
Think  not  that  when  once  converted  you  may 
be  at  your  ease.  You  only  begin  the  Chris- 
tian race  at  the  cross;  and  it  is  not  done  till 
you  reach  your  dying  day. 

Consider  the  points  of  resemblance  between 
your  life  mid  a  race.  In  a  race  a  certain  course 
is  marked  out.  Over  it  the  competitors  have 
to  run.  On  no  account  must  they  deviate  from 
it.  And  so  in  the  Christian  life.  There  is  a 
course  marked  out  for  you.  It  is  the  narrow 
way  of  holiness.  Again,  in  the  race  there  is 
required  laborious  exertion.  It  is  no  easy  matter 
to  reach  the  goal  before  all  others.  In  order 
to  this  every  nerve  has  to  be  strained.  And 
so  in  the  Christian  life.     You  must  bear  in 


78  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

mind  that  of  yourself  you  can  do  nothing ;  that 
it  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him  that 
runneth,  but  of  God  that  showeth  mercy.  And 
yet  you  must  act  with  all  the  ardor  of  such  as 
believe  that  success  depends  on  their  own  exer- 
tions. In  the  race  a  prize  is  held  out  to  the  suc- 
cessful competitor.  It  may  be  of  no  great  value 
in  itself,  but  it  is  looked  upon  as  a  sign  of  dis- 
tinction, and  is  coveted  by  many.  Willing- 
ly do  they  put  themselves  to  toil  and  trou- 
ble to  secure  it,  and  great  is  their  delight  if 
they  succeed.  And  so  in  the  Christian  life. 
A  prize  is  held  out  to  the  successful  candidate — 
a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  awa}^  Here 
is  a  reward  worth  the  struggling  for.  No  time 
can  impair  its  value ;  but  on  the  contrary,  it 
shall  grow  in  ever-brightening  splendor  from 
age  to  age. 

And  how  are  you  to  run  this  race  ?  They  who 
run  a  race  make  themselves  as  light  as  possible. 
They  put  off  whatever  might  encumber  them, 
and  they  train  themselves  anxiously  before- 
hand for  the  contest ;  and  so  should  it  be  in 
the  Christian  race.  You  should  lay  aside 
every  weight,  and  the  sin  that  doth  most  easily 


THE  RACE.  T9 

beset  you ;  and  you  should  count  no  sacrifice 
too  dear  so  that  you  may  win  heaven.  Again, 
they  who  run  a  race  are  required  to  exercise 
jmtience.  It  may  be  necessary  to  submit  to  self- 
denying  discipline,  and  on  the  day  of  trial  they 
must  steadily  and  perseveringly  hold  on  till 
the  goal  is  reached.  And  so  in  the  Christian 
race.  If  you  would  gain  the  promised  prize 
you  must  be  patient.  You  must  not  faint  or 
be  discouraged  by  the  obstacles  which  you 
meet  with  in  your  progress ;  but  in  the  face  of 
every  difficulty  you  rnust  press  onwards  to  the 
goal.  And  once  more,  they  who  run  a  race 
are  often  stimulated  to  increased  and  strenuous 
effort  by  the  presence  of  others  who  have  former- 
ly won  the  prize.  And  you  are  to  look  to 
Jesus.  You  are  to  look  to  him  as  your  great 
Example,  who  has  run  the  race  before  you ;  and 
you  are  to  look  to  him  as  your  almighty  Friend, 
who  is  ever  able  and  ready  to  help  you,  so  that 
you  may  run  and  not  be  weary. 

And  why  should  you  thus  run  the  Christian 
race  ?  God  calls  on  you  to  do  it;  and  he  that 
knows  his  Lord's  will,  and  does  not  do  it,  shall 
be  beaten  with  many  stripes.     Moreover  the 


80  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

prize  is  certain  if  you  lieartily  engage  in  this 
race.  In  respect  to  the  pursuit  of  earthly 
good,  you  may  reckon  on  meeting  with  sore 
disappointments;  but  the  immortal  crown  is 
sure  to  every  truly  earnest  runner.  Besides, 
the  prize,  as  I  would  remind  you  again,  is  of 
priceless  value.  It  is  no  corruptible  and  unsub- 
stantial thing.  Human  tongue  cannot  express 
its  worth.  It  is  salvation ;  it  is  eternal  life ; 
it  is  an  enduring  inheritance ;  it  is  an  exceed- 
ing, even  an  eternal  weight  of  glory;  it  is 
heaven. 

So  run  that  you  may  obtain.  Press  on  tow- 
ards the  mark  for  the  prize  of  your  high  calling. 
Be  not  discouraged  because  of  the  way.  Ani- 
mated by  the  thought  of  the  many  who  have 
arrived  at  the  goal,  go  on  with  growing  ardor, 
and  you  will  at  length  be  partaker  of  their 
surpassing  glory  and  their  satisfying  joy. 

Awake,  my  soul,  stretch  every  nerve, 

And  press  with  vigor  on ; 
A  heavenly  race  demands  thy  zeal, 

And  an  immortal  crown. 


REDEEMING  THE  TIME.  81 


XIX. 

REDEEMING  THE  TIME. 

"  Redeeming  the  time,  because  tlie  days  are  evil." 
Epiies.  5:16. 

Time  is  the  most  precious  of  all  your  posses- 
sions. With  it  nothing  which  you  have  may 
be  compared  in  value.  It  stands  prominently 
out  as  of  unspeakable  importance.  And  how 
is  it  so  precious  ?  The  use  you  make  of  it  is 
to  determine  the  character  of  your  eternity. 
And  yet  how  much  is  it  misspent  by  the  great 
bulk  of  men !  No  note  is  taken  of  it  as  it  hur- 
ries along.  Its  vast  importance  is  forgotten. 
Days  and  months  of  it  are  allowed  to  pass  un- 
lieeded.  It  is  short,  very  short;  but  to  many 
it  appears  long  and  tedious.  It  hangs  heavily 
on  their  hands ;  they  know  not  how  to  use  it : 
ingenuity  is  exercised  in  finding  out  ways  and 
means  to  kill  it.  Very  different  was  the  esti- 
mate formed  of  time  by  Paul.  He  saw  it  in  its 
proper  light ;  and  viewing  it  as  the  spring-time 
of  eternity,  he  often  reminds  his  converts  of  its 


82  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

transitoriness,  and  calls  on  them  to  use  all  dili- 
gence and  earnestness  in  redeeming  it — hus- 
banding it,  improving  it,  employing  it  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  attain  in  it  the  purposes  for 
which  it  has  been  given. 

Remember  that  time  is  a  great  reality.  We 
are  apt  to  regard  it  as  something  unsubstantial 
and  shadowy.  It  seems  to  possess  no  true  ex- 
istence. In  what  light  do  we  commonly  view 
it  but  as  thin  air,  or  rather  as  empty  space? 
But  seek  to  have  a  clear,  distinct,  abiding  sense 
of  its  reality.  And  in  order  to  this,  cultivate 
the  habit  of  thinking  from  day  to  day  what  you 
can  do  in  the  way  of  improving  it. 

Remember  that  time  is  inseparably  connected 
with  eternity.  Do  not  forget  this  most  solemn 
relation.  Each  little  portion  of  your  present 
existence  has  to  do  with  the  interminable  future 
that  awaits  you.  It  is  so  indeed.  There  will 
be  nothing  in  eternity  to  you  but  what  springs 
out  of  time.  Is  there  good  in  the  world 
unseen  ?  Are  there  joys  of  which  the  mind 
while  here  has  no  conception?  Are  there 
sentient  and  spiritual  delights  suited  to  a  fully 
regenerated  body  and  to  a  fully  regenerated 


REDEEMING  THE  TIME.  83 

soul  ?  All  this  will  be  realized  in  consequence 
of  the  right  use  of  time.  Is  there  evil  in  the 
world  unseen?  Are  there  miseries  there  un- 
speakably woful  ?  Is  there  a  worm  that  dieth 
not,  and  a  fire  that  shall  never  be  quenched? 
All  this  will  be  realized  in  consequence  of  the 
abuse  of  time.  "  Be  not  deceived ;  God  is  not 
mocked :  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that 
shall  he  also  reap.  For  he  that  soweth  to  his 
flesh  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption ;  but  he 
that  soweth  to  the  Spirit  shall  of  the  Spirit 
reap  life  everlasting.'^ 

Remember  too  that  time  is  shorty  uncertain, 
and  irrevocable.  It  is  short.  How  small  and 
short-lived  the  objects  to  which  it  is  likened  in 
holy  writ !  It  is  spoken  of  as  a  span,  as  a  va- 
por, as  a  cloud,  as  a  step,  as  the  fading  flower. 
It  is  uncertain.  The  present  is  yours,  but  in 
the  future  you  have  no  ascertained  property. 
You  know  not  what  a  day  will  bring  forth  ; 
there  may  be  but  a  step  between  you  and  death. 
This  very  night  your  soul  may  be  required  of 
you.  Work  heartily  for  God  and  the  soul  and 
eternity  now ;  to-morrow  you  may  have  no 
opportunity  to  do  so.     Once  more,  time  is  ir- 


84  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

revocable.  The  clock  is  wound  up  once  for  all  ; 
yet  a  little  while  and  its  last  hour  will  strike 
for  you.  Many  things  when  lost  may  be  recov- 
ered, but  not  so  with  time.  Over  the  past  you 
have  no  control.  It  is  departed.  No  power 
can  bring  it  back. 

Redeem  the  time.  Lost  years,  a  coming  judg- 
ment-seat, the  glory  of  God,  call  you  with  loud 
voice  to  do  so.  If  your  soul  be  at  peace  through 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  if  the  Holy  Ghost 
have  begun  a  good  work  in  you,  work  out  your 
salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,  and  live 
heartily  for  God.  The  night  is  far  spent,  and 
the  day  is  at  hand;  soon  will  the  clouds  part 
their  awful  folds.  The  realities  of  eternity 
will  ere  long  break  upon  your  view,  and  then 
all  opportunities  of  working  for  God  in  a  sin- 
ful world  will  be  for  ever  gone. 

Dear  Lord,  and  shall  we  ever  live 

At  this  poor  dying  rate — 
Our  love  so  faint,  so  cold  to  thee, 

And  thine  to  us  so  great ! 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly  Dove, 
With  all  thy  quickening  powers  ; 

Come,  shed  abroad  a  Saviour's  love, 
And  that  shall  kindle  ours. 


AN  UNCHANGEABLE  SAVIOUR.  85 


XX. 

AN  UNCHANGEABLE  SAVIOUR. 

"  Jesus  Christ  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and 
forever."    Heb.  13:8. 

All  tilings  seem  to  be  subject  to  change. 
Above  us  the  stars  have  shone  for  ages ;  but 
they  shall  fall  as  a  fig-tree  casteth  her  untimely 
figs.  Around  us  the  hills  have  stood  for  cen- 
turies ;  but  the  mountains  shall  depart,  and  the 
hills  be  removed.  Beneath  us  lies  the  firm  and 
solid  earth ;  but  in  the  fulness  of  time  it  shall 
be  burned  up.  In  respect  to  man,  one  genera- 
tion passeth  away  and  another  generation  com- 
eth.  The  little  history  of  every  one  is  an  ever- 
varying,  ever-shifting  scene ;  but  how  delight- 
ful the  thought  that  there  is  One  at  least  with 
whom  it  is  not  thus.  Here  is  a  refuge  for  the 
soul  amid  the  transitory  objects  of  time  and 
sense.  The  changes  in  heaven,  on  earth,  in 
man,  produce  no  change  in  Christ ;  for  he  is 
the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for  ever. 

Jesus  is  unchangeable  in  his  being.     When  on 


86  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

earth,  he  was  very  man.  He  had  all  the  sin- 
less infirmities  of  our  nature ;  he  was  bone  of 
our  bone  and  flesh  of  our  flesh:  but  he  was 
also  very  God;  and  in  his  Godhead  he  must 
be  unchangeable.  Were  he  to  change,  it  would 
be  for  the  better  or  for  the  worse.  But  he 
cannot  change  for  the  better,  for  this  would 
imply  previous  imperfection ;  nor  can  he  change 
for  the  worse,  for  then  would  he  cease  to  be 
the  all-perfect  One.  As  God  then  he  must  be 
ever  the  same — the  same  in  his  being  and  glory 
and  blessedness,  possessed  of  every  possible 
perfection  in  the  highest  possible  degree. 

Christ  is  unchangeable  in  his  attributes.  How 
great  his  poiver  on  earth!  See  him  amid  the 
wrecks  of  humanity:  the  blind  received  their 
sight,  the  lame  walked,  the  lepers  were  cleans- 
ed. See  him  in  the  domains  of  death:  the 
corpse  started  to  life  at  his  word.  See  him 
amid  the  fury  of  the  tempest :  he  rebuked  the 
wind,  and  there  was  a  great  calm.  And  he  is 
still  the  same:  he  can  cure  all  our  spiritual 
ills ;  he  can  quicken  such  as  are  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins;  he  can  bid  all  our  fears  and 
troubles  cease.     How  great  his  wisdom  on 


AN  UNCHANGEABLE  SAVIOUR.  8t 

earth — a  wisdom  which  he  exercised  so  gra- 
ciously on  behalf  of  his  disciples.  And  he  is 
still  the  same:  with  implicit  confidence  may 
his  people  trust  in  him  as  an  unerring  guide. 
How  great  his  love  !  Ever  did  he  pardon  the 
penitent,  strengthen  the  feeble,  comfort  the 
bowed-down.  And  he  is  still  the  same:  no 
change  has  come  over  his  kind,  tender,  loving 
heart ;  never  will  he  send  the  humble  and 
weary  empty  away. 

Christ  is  unchangeable  in  his  doctrines.  The 
ideas,  feelings,  purposes  of  men  often  vary; 
but  an  infinite  Being  knows  no  mutability. 
New  thoughts  cannot  start  up  in  the  mind  of 
God.  Now  what  are  the  grand  leading  doc- 
trines of  the  gospel  of  Christ?  We  must  re- 
pent of  sin ;  we  must  rest  on  Jesus  by  a  true 
and  living  faith ;  we  must  be  renewed  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  It  must  be  thus  with  us  if  we 
would  be  saved.  There  can  be  no  doubt  what- 
ever that  this  is  most  plainly  announced.  Any 
other  way  of  getting  to  heaven  is  obviously 
out  of  the  question.  There  are  myriads  now 
in  glory.  Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand, 
and  thousands  of  thousands  have  reached  the 


88  A  PRESENT   SAVIOUR. 

paradise  of  God.  They  form  an  exceeding 
great  multitude,  which  no  man  can  number. 
By  no  other  way  can  we  join  that  glorious 
company  than  through  repentance,  faith,  re- 
newal. 

Think  of  it,  Christ  is  unchangeable  in  his 
being.  How  delightful  the  thought  I  If  rest- 
ing on  him,  you  are  on  solid  ground.  Feeble 
and  mortal  though  you  be,  you  are  a  partaker 
of  Christ's  own  stability.  Your  feet  are  on  a 
rock,  and  you  cannot  be  moved.  Christ  is  un- 
changeable in  his  attributes.  Fear  not.  Trust 
in  him.  Cast  the  whole  burden  of  your  being 
upon  him.  He  is  able  and  willing  to  help  you 
in  your  every  time  of  need,  if  you  depend  on 
him.  Christ  is  unchangeable  in  his  doctrines. 
Have  you  truly  repented  of  sin?  Have  you 
been  led  to  the  cross  and  given  up  yourself  to 
Jesus  ?  Have  you  been  born  again  through  the 
Holy  Ghost?  Most  solemn  questions!  Bless- 
ed are  all  they  who  can  answer  them  aright. 

And  Oh,  when  I  have  safely  passed 
Through  every  conflict  but  the  last, 
Still,  Lord,  unchanging,  watch  beside 
My  bed  of  death — for  thou  hast  died. 


THE  DAY  OF  SMALL  THINGS.  89 


XXI. 

THE  DAY  OF  SMALL  THINGS. 

"  Who  hath,  despised  the  day  of  small  things  !" 
;Zech.  4:10. 

Have  you  been  brought  out  of  darkness? 
Does  the  true  light  now  shine  in  and  around 
you?  Are  you  a  child  of  the  day?  But  is 
your  faith  feeble?  Is  your  love  cold?  Is 
your  zeal  fitful  and  languid?  Be  not  cast 
down ;  take  heart.  Do  not  despise  the  day  of 
small  things. 

It  is  well  to  long  for  progress  in  spiritual  at. 
tainment.  A  great  work  of  holiness  has  to  be 
wrought  in  you ;  and  now  is  the  time  to  have 
it  done.  What  is  the  future  that  awaits  you  ? 
You  are  to  mingle  with  those  whose  robes  are 
white.  You  are  to  sit  with  angels.  You  are 
to  stand  in  the  presence  of  God  and  the  Lamb. 
Do  you  feel  unprepared  for  such  a  state  ?  Aim 
at  progress ;  long  and  pray  for  progress ;  be 
not  content  without  progress.     Seek  to  have 


90  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

your  path  like  the  shining  light,  that  shineth 
more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day. 

But  be  not  discouraged.  Has  the  word  of  life 
been  received  into  a  true  and  honest  heart? 
It  will  work,  and  work,  and  work.  Nor  will 
it  cease  its  effectual  working  till  the  whole  man 
is  brought  into  obedience  to  it.  But  this  is 
not  to  be  the  result  of  a  day  or  month  or  year. 
A  lifetime  is  needed  for  the  attainment  of  holi- 
ness in  any  very  high  degree.  Hear  what  the 
great  Augustine  says :  "  Is  love  made  perfect 
the  moment  it  is  born  ?  So  far  from  this,  it  is 
born  in  order  to  be  brought  to  perfection. 
When  it  has  been  born  it  is  nourished ;  when 
it  has  been  nourished  it  is  strengthened ;  when 
it  has  been  strengthened  it  is  made  perfect; 
when  it  has  arrived  at  perfection  it  says,  I  de- 
sire to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ."  It  is 
well  to  mourn  over  the  dimness  of  your  views 
and  the  faintness  of  your  love,  and  the  worldli- 
ness  of  your  thoughts;  but  the  Lord  Jesus  is 
very  pitiful.  He  knows  your  frame,  and  re- 
members that  you  are  dust;  and  he  will  not 
break  the  bruised  reed,  nor  quench  the  smok- 
ing flax.     Think  not  that  if  you  be  truly  his, 


THE  DAY  OF  SMALL  THINGS.  91 

he  will  cast  you  off.  Though  he  had  found  you 
as  black  as  hell,  he  will  present  you  at  length 
before  God  without  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any 
such  thing. 

To  stimulate  you,  I  would  bid  you  look  to 
those  who  have  gone  before  you.  "I  often  con- 
template," says  Foster,  "  and  with  the  due 
amazement,  Moses,  Elijah,  Paul,  and  John,  with 
the  rest  who  have  formed  the  first  and  noblest 
rank  of  mankind.  I  have  wondered  whether 
there  is  in  the  nature  of  things  an  impossibility 
of  ever  approaching  them ;  but  I  have  conclud- 
ed with  warmth  that  all  things  should  be  at- 
tempted, should  be  suffered,  should  be  sacrificed 
in  the  divine  emulation  of  emulating  them." 
And  if  they  were  great  on  earth,  how  glorious 
are  they  now !  They  have  been  delivered  from 
the  bondage  of  corruption.  They  have  tri- 
umphed over  all  the  ills  incident  to  humanity. 
They  have  reached  a  state  of  absolute  security, 
happiness,  perfection.  But  you  may  attain  a 
position  as  glorious  as  theirs.  By  the  same 
grand  process  of  faith  and  inward  renewal  you 
may  be  perfect  as  they  are  perfect. 

It  is  the  day  of  small  things,  but  rejoice  in 


92  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

the  assurance  that  a  day  of  great  things  is  com- 
ing. There  is  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then 
the  full  corn  in  the  ear.  There  are  first  the 
totterings  of  infancy,  then  the  steady  walk  of 
manhood.  There  is  first  the  dawn,  then  the 
twilight,  then  the  perfect  day. 

Oh  long  expected  day,  begin ; 
Dawn  on  these  realms  of  woe  and  sin: 
Fain  would  I  leave  this  weary  road, 
And  sleep  in  death  to  rest  with  God. 


THE  FINAL  DAY.  93 


XXII. 

THE  FINAL  DAY. 


"  For  we  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment-seat 
of  Christ."     2  Cor.  5:10. 

A  DAY  of  judgment  is  coming.  It  may  still 
be  far  distant,  or  it  may  be  nearer  at  hand ;  but 
arrive  it  certainly  shall.  There  is  to  be  a 
winding  up  of  the  affairs  of  earth.  The  cur- 
tain is  to  fall  on  the  things  of  time,  and  there 
shall  be  unfolded  to  mortal  eye  the  visions  of 
eternity. 

How  will  that  day  begin  ?  The  loud  peal  of 
the  Archangers  trump  will  announce  its  arrival. 
Previous  to  this  no  strange  phenomena  may 
have  served  to  indicate  its  near  approach  ;  but 
how  solemn  the  scenes  which  shall  then  be  wit- 
nessed !  The  sun  shall  grow  dim  in  heaven ; 
the  stars  shall  pale  their  feeble  light ;  the  ele- 
ments shall  melt  with  fervent  heat ;  the  founda- 
tions of  the  earth  shall  tremble:  nature  shall 
heave  her  final  groan.  The  living,  what  of 
them?     We  are  told  they  shall  suddenly  be 


94  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

changed.  The  dead,  what  of  them?  They 
who  sleep  shall  suddenly  awake.  All  who 
tread,  or  who  have  ever  trod  the  earth  shall 
hurry,  moved  by  some  resistless  impulse,  to  the 
great  white  throne  of  the  descending  Judge. 
"  Every  eye  shall  see  him."  "  Before  him  shall 
be  gathered  all  nations."  "  I  saw  the  dead, 
small  and  great,  stand  before  God." 

How  is  that  day  to  be  spent  ? 

It  is  to  be  the  great  reckoning-time.  We 
are  to  give  in  our  account.  Each  one  for  him- 
self is  to  answer  for  his  life  on  earth,  and  is  to 
receive  the  things  done  in  his  body,  according 
to  that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or 
bad.  How  are  the  myriads  who  have  peopled 
the  world  to  be  tried  ?  How  are  the  thoughts 
and  words  and  actions  of  men  to  be  unveiled 
and  judged?  I  do  not  know  all  this.  It  is 
wrapped  in  mystery.  I  am  unable  to  under- 
stand or  explain  it;  but  I  know  that  God  is 
infinite  in  all  his  attributes,  and  that  what  is 
impossible  with  man  is  possible  with  him.  It 
will  be  a  solemn  judgment.  There  will  be 
every  thing  to  render  it  an  imposing  scene. 
God,  angels,  Satan  no  doubt,  all  present ;  the 


THE  FINAL  DAY.  95 

vast  congregation  at  the  bar ;  the  irrevocable 
sentence  passed  upon  myriads  of  myriads  of 
immortal  beings.  What  can  be  more  solemn 
than  all  this  ?  It  will  be  a  searching  judgment. 
The  eye  of  Omniscience  will  pierce  through 
every  spirit.  It  will  read  with  unerring  glance 
the  character  engraven  on  all  hearts.  There 
is  nothing  hidden  which  shall  not  then  be 
brought  to  light.  And  it  will  be  an  individual 
judgment.  Many  may  be  the  assembled  thou- 
sands ;  but  there  will  be  no  possibility  of  los- 
ing ourselves  in  the  multitude  around  us.  We 
must  every  one  of  us  give  in  our  account  unto 
God. 

How  will  the  day  close  ? 

Its  end  will  be  far  from  being  the  same  to 
all  who  are  judged.  To  some  it  will  end  in 
unutterable  sorrow ;  while  to  others  it  will  end 
in  unutterable  joy.  The  wicked  "  shall  go  away 
into  everlasting  punishment,  but  the  righteous 
into  life  eternal."  About  that  doleful  region 
which  is  to  be  the  future  abode  of  the  former 
we  know  but  little.  It  is  a  place  of  ceaseless 
torment — a  region  of  hopeless  misery — a  land 
of  everlasting  exile  from  the  presence  and  favor 


96  A  PRESENT  SAVIOUR. 

of  God — an  eternity  of  woe.  Dreadful  doom  ! 
And  yet  sucli  is  the  portion  of  the  lost.  How 
different  the  lot  of  the  saved !  Salvation  is 
theirs.  And  what  a  fund  of  blessings  is  in- 
cluded in  that  word!  There  is  deliverance 
from  ignorance,  guilt,  sin,  sorrow,  death ;  and 
there  is  the  possession  of  every  good  which  can 
gratify  the  human  heart. 

Be  not  forgetful  of  your  great  destiny.  Make 
ready  for  the  day  of  the  Lord.  Whatever  else 
you  neglect,  neglect  not  this.  Look  upon  it  as 
the  great  business  of  life  to  glorify  God,  and  to 
prepare  for  the  solemn  future  which  lies  before 
you.  Live  so  that  when  you  receive  the  sum- 
mons of  death  you  may  cheerfully  obey  it,  and 
haste  with  willing  step  to  Him  in  whose  pres- 
ence is  fulness  of  joy,  and  at  whose  right  hand 
there  are  pleasures  for  evermore. 

Impartial  retribution  then 

Our  different  Hves  await ; 
Our  present  actions,  good  or  had, 

Shall  fix  our  future  state. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminanf,, Libraries 


1    1012  01290  3565 


